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Fiji is a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific lying between Vanuatu and Samoa. The principal island is Viti Levu. The first schools on Fiji were established by missionaries. Primary school for the first 8 years in Fiji during the the 1990s is free and compulsory. Amost all Fijian children attend primary school. This is possible because there are many small one room schools located in villages throughout the islands. There are both state public schools and privaste schools. Missions schools function under government supervision. Government spending for education is substantial, about 4.5 percent of GDP (1990). Less than half of the primary students continue on to secondary schools (mid-1990s). This relatively low rate is because children in rural areas have to travel outside their village to reach a secondary school. About 10 percent of the secondary students are in technical or vocational schools. The 2000 coup created security concerns, causing some parents to keep their children home. While there are free state schools, some low income families have difficulty affording transportation and school supplies. Fiji has colleges/universities. The University of the South Pacific opened in Suva (1968). Students not only come from Fiji, but other Pacific island states. There are some smaller colleges, including a teacher taining college. Most of the Fiji population is literate. Adult illiteracy is only about 7 percent.
Fiji is a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific lying between Vanuatu and Samoa. The principal island is Viti Levu. Melanesian and Polynesian peoples settled the Fijian islands about 1,500 BC. European traders and missionaries reached Fiji in the early 19th century. Conflicts led to wars among the native Fijian confederacies. Cakobau, a Ratu (chief), became the dominant force in the western islands (1850s). Continued conflict and unrest, however, convinced him and a convention of chiefs to accept British rule (1874). Under British rule, the countryside was pacified. Plantation agriculture was introduced and indentured workers were brought in from India. Traditional institutions, especially the system of communal land ownership, were maintained. During the Pacific War, Fihi was just outside the area conquered by Japan. It became an important base and staging area for the United States. A constitutional conference in London agreed that Fiji should become a fully sovereign and independent nation within the Commonwealth. Fiji became independent (1970).
The first modern schools on Fiji were established by missionaries.
Primary school for the first 8 years in Fiji during the the 1990s is free and compulsory. Amost all Fijian children attend primary school. This is possible because there are many small one room schools located in villages throughout the islands.Government spending for education is substantial, about 4.5 percent of GDP (1990). Less than half of the primary students continue on to secondary schools (mid-1990s). This relatively low rate is because children in rural areas have to travel outside their village to reach a secondary school. About 10 percent of the secondary students are in technical or vocational schools. The 2000 coup created security concerns, causing some parents to keep their children home. While there are free state schools, some low income families have difficulty affording transportation and school supplies. Fiji has colleges/universities. The the University of the South Pacific opened in Suva (1968). Students not only come from Fiji, but other Pacific island states. There are some smaller colleges, including a teacher taining college. Most of the Fiji population is literate. Adult illiteracy is only about 7 percent.
There are both state public schools and private schools. The state schools are organized along the standard primary/secondary division. Primary school is universal. Secondary schools are selective. Students interested in continuing their education talke competitive exams. Those that are successful pay nominal fees which are subsidized by the government. Missions schools function under government supervision. There are over 10 private boarding schools on the different islands. Most are located in the havily populated area around the eastern coast of Viti Levu around Suva and on the island of Ovalau. They are all boys schools except for Adi Cakabau School inland from Suva. This of course illustrates the greater importance attached to the education of boys. Two relatively recent additions are international schools which offer the Bacularate scheme. The school in Suva educates children up to the age 16 years while the school in Nadi is for children through age 14. years. Relatively high fees means that mopst of the children are from foreign expatriate families.
Most of the Fiji schools require uniforms. We do not have a lot of information yet, but we have a few school photographs from Fiji whicvh show the chilkdren wearing school uniforms. The boys at primary schools wear standard collared shirts, commonly white shirts. The boys wear different colored short pants or long skirts. Blue and grey seem common. The girls wear variously styled blouses. Some looked like open-collared sailor blouses. As far as we can tell the boys and girls skirts are the same. The children mostly come to school barefoot. We are not sure yet about the uniforms adopted at secondary schools.
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