Schools will reopen and parents will be able to choose whether to send their children to school or not.
This was highlighted by the Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Premila Kumar during her visit to schools in Tavua yesterday.
"We understand and respect the decision of parents not to send their children to school. We cannot close the schools for 67 per cent of our parents who want to send their children to school. Therefore, our schools will be reopened and parents will be free to choose whether to send their children to school," Minister Kumar said.
The Minister noted that keeping children out of school increases the likelihood of them not returning to school; thus, reopening schools is of fundamental importance.
"It's everyone's responsibility to open a school, it's a societal responsibility. We must all work together to keep our schools open. Let's keep this in mind. In addition, if a child is kept out of school for a long period of time, they lose a lot of learning opportunities."
The Minister also presented PPEs as well as grant assistance (farming equipment) that was donated by the Korean Embassy.