Students Drive $160k Bure Project at Vunimono High
The bure will serve as multifunctional learning and gathering spaces for students during recess, lunch, and recreational activities.
Wednesday 18 June 2025 | 15:15
Updated 08 August 2025 | 15:35 FJT
Minister for Finance Bi man Prasad, with students of Vunimono High School in Nausori on June 17, 2025. Photo: Kaneta Naimatau
Vunimono High School students were praised for their innovative thinking by the Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad.
He officiated at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of 16 traditional learning spaces, called a 'bure', yesterday.
The ambitious project, valued at $160,000, was proposed by the 2024 year 13 student council in a demonstrates of the power of community collaboration in education development.
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"I was more delighted to come because I knew that the idea of this project came from year 13 students, and I want to congratulate all those students," Mr Prasad said during the ceremony at the Nausori school.
The bure will serve as multifunctional learning and gathering spaces for students during recess, lunch, and recreational activities.
What started as a modest plan to build two or three 'bure' expanded dramatically following overwhelming community support, particularly after a successful Diwali Mela Night fundraising event that raised $34,072 in just three hours.
Principal Bijen Singh expressed gratitude to the generous sponsors who made the project possible, including Autocare Fiji Limited sponsoring four bures, Rajen Builders sponsoring two, and individual sponsors contributing one bure each.
"These bure will symbolise our school's vision of creating inclusive, culturally enriched spaces for our students where learning is not confined to classrooms but nurtured through community, tradition, and identity," Mr Singh said.
Rajen Builders is constructing the bure' at $5000 each, contributing $90,000 to the project through their reduced pricing and direct sponsorship.
Mr Prasad stressed the importance of maintaining partnerships between Government, communities, and schools, noting that 99 per cent of the country's school infrastructure was built by forefathers and religious organisations.
"That's the partnership that we want to bring back to our schools, to our education system in this country," he said.
The groundbreaking ceremony marks a significant milestone for Vunimono High School, which has demonstrated remarkable academic progress with a 95 per cent pass rate in year 13 examinations last year and 86 per cent in year 12.
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