MINISTER FOR EDUCATION HON. ASERI RADRODRO'S ADDRESS AT THE 129TH FIJI PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

The President, Fiji Principals Association, Dr Rajesh Krishna
The Executive Members of Fiji Principals Association
Principals
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
 
First and foremost, I pay respect and homage to the vanua o Nadonumai, vua saka Na Gone Turaga Na Tui Suva the traditional custodians of the land on which we have gathered today.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen, and members of the Principal’s Association, I am very humbled to be back as your Minister for Education. My absence during the period of my ‘yellow card” has refreshed God’s word that “Only He has the power to change times and seasons and He controls the courses of world events; he removes Kings and sets up other Kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning” Daniel 2: 21.
 
We are all here as per God’s seasons of our lives. As leaders, we are not here by accident. Many times, we may forget how important our roles are, and the calling on our lives, but we can be rest assured that our Good Lord is full of Grace and from Him comes all good gifts. 
 
There is so much that remains to be done. My order of business has not changed. I would like us to all work together to lift the education landscape in Fiji, and to prepare our children to embrace a fast evolving world of evolution. Priorities will remain the same and that is to look after the education needs of all our people and to also ensure we provide a conducive environment of work for our hard working teachers. 
 
I wish to thank you all for this invitation to be here and address you again at this same event which I had graced last year. It is a privilege to speak to an esteemed group of leaders from our education sector. It is more special as you celebrate your diamond jubilee signifying the 60 long years of leadership empowerment of the Association. On that note, I thank you sincerely for the kind words of welcome extended to me this morning.
 
This esteemed 129th Principal's Conference built on the theme: "Building Bridges, Building Teams for Academic Leaders’, is most appropriate as it calls on your leadership direction, character, and vision to uplift the standards of equal education access for all of our people. 
 
ROLE OF LEADERS
It is no secret that much is expected of you all as leaders of our education sector. Your roles are so crucial as you lead the evolution and prepare our children to become vibrant and capable members of our nation in their adult life. 
You are tasked to bridge the gap between tradition and innovation, and I wish to encourager you all to think about the need to empower your students to be independent thinkers. Team work is crucial for social cohesion, however in order to achieve that, we must first mold the characters of our children to have a sense of purpose, to have vision and a direction. 

I wish to remind us all that children are inquisitive; they are creative; they are vibrant; but they can also be very vulnerable to all the challenges that comes with life’s journey.

I would like to ask you all to please get involved in the lives of your students. Get to know them and understand the backgrounds they come from, and instill in them a renewed sense of hope and faith that we are responsible leaders, equipped to guide and nurture them to become the best version of themselves.
The high level of student dropouts; teeanage pregnancy; drug use and delinguents involved in crime is too much to have us complacent and ignorant.
 
It is our role to identify the issues our children are faced with and to tackle them sentively and with a sense of purpose. We nbow have the coubnselling centres that I anticipate are being put to good use. 

The MOE had started to discuss with the Fiji Psychology Asscoation and I am hopeful that we will make it our business to identify students who need support early so they do not have to go through life with undiagnosed health issues that affects their learning; their social skills and their confidence.

It is incumbent on you and me; all our stakeholders to work together. 

You are all trained leaders; exemplary in your experience and skills that we must acknowledge you as such; thus I wish you to take a step up from your comfort zones; get into more training and capacity building your self-growth. Learning is a lifelong process so get a few more academic qualifications to help zone your thinking and decision making abilities further.
 
Ladies and Gentleman, I also wish to encourage you this morning that there are outstanding issues in our communities that need to be addressed, one of which is ensuring that the language of learning is all encompassing; void of discrimination or any biases. Learning must provide an environment where we foster an inclusive culture within our schools, where every student, teacher, and staff member feels valued, respected, and heard. Thus, bridging the divides that exist within our communities where understanding and respecting our vibrant differences makes us all a dynamic multiracial and multi-faceted Fiji. 

Nevertheless, neither our coalition government nor the principals association alone can build bridges of peace, resilience, economic growth and sustainability. It is our collective responsibility as Fiji citizens to form teams that are cohesive, passionate, and driven by a common vision in providing the platform of learning opportunities for our students to learn and be able to apply knowledge and skills outside the four walls of the classroom. 
 
We must be the catalysts for change, fostering a culture of collaboration and teamwork among our teachers, administrators, and support staff. By recognizing and appreciating the unique strengths and talents of each team member, we can foster an environment that encourages innovation, risk-taking, and continuous professional development.
 
IMPORTANCE OF BEING BRIDGE BUILDERS IN EDUCATION
Today, I, as your Minister for Education, challenge you all present here to embrace this conference as an opportunity to learn from one another, share best practices, and formulate strategies that will enable us to build bridges and forge stronger teams within our respective institutions. Let us leverage the collective wisdom and expertise present in this room to inspire transformative leadership, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the quality and efficacy of education that we provide to our students. We must support the vision of the Coalition government to leave no child behind in the educational landscape and space.
 
Throughout this conference, you have organized sessions, and discussions, designed specifically to address the challenges you as school leaders encounter and more importantly discuss clear, doable and rewarding strategies to provide the best teaching and learning environment to our students. Let us be active participants, engaged in thought-provoking conversations, and open to new perspectives because you are the nation builders for a better Fiji. 
 
John F Kennedy once said and I quote ‘Leadership and learning are indispensable with each other.’ (Unquote)
 
Hence, I once again express sincere gratitude to the organising committee, and sponsors who have made this Principal's Conference possible. Let us seize this extraordinary opportunity to learn, grow, and strengthen our abilities as bridge builders connecting our classrooms to the world of entrepreneurs, conscientious employees and be job creators so our Fiji students become marketable individuals in the local, regional and the global market.

The Coalition government has invested in you to be leaders of your respective schools and together, we should create an educational landscape where every student can thrive, every teacher can excel, and every community can flourish.
 
I wish you a fruitful 2 days of educational deliberations and I, now officially declare the 129th Fiji Principal’s Conference open.
 
Vinaka vakalevu and thank you very much.