PRIME MINISTER VOREQE BAINIMARAMA'S SPEECH AT THE OPENING OF THE RATU KADAVULEVU SCHOOL STAKEHOLDERS WORKSHOP

06/11/2020


The Minister for Education, Heritage & Arts, Hon. Rosy Akbar;
President of the Ratu Kadavulevu School Old Scholars Association, Alivereti Yaya;
President of the Parents, Teachers Association (PTA), Josefa Korovulavula;
Principal of Ratu Kadavulevu School, Naisa Cama;
Divisional Education Officer, Central, Pravind Nath;
Teachers & Students.
 
Bula Vinaka and a very good morning to you all.
 
It’s wonderful to be back at the Ratu Kadavulevu School. As most of you know, I spent some of my school-years on this campus. The grounds weren’t quite as grand back then, and I’m proud to see how this School has grown and developed in the service of its students. I’m particularly glad to know my old dormitory, Degei House, will soon come under construction after it burned down. Fire or not, I was proud to see Degei’s boarders shake off that adversity and to defend our Inter-House Competition title this past February. 
 
There’s a lot I could say today about the millions of dollars’ worth of renovations and upgrades my Government has funded on this campus; your new dining hall, kitchen and boilers, the physics and biology labs, and the dormitories, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. New buildings don’t count for nearly as much as the people within them. This School’s real greatness is not built from brick and steel, it is forged by its community; the passion, the commitment, and the achievements of its leadership, its teachers, its staff, and of you, its students. 
 
This workshop must harness that potential to position our RKS family for success in a modern Fiji. With the vast majority of schools around the world closed due to COVID-19; none of us should not take this chance for granted. We have a rare opportunity here, let’s not waste it. 
This Workshop will not take us backwards – let me be clear on that. There is an old stigma of privilege and entitlement around this institution that serves no one and must be shed. This is the start of something new; the beginning of a better, more inclusive, and even more impressive RKS community; a school where our students are focussed solely on their studies, their sports, and on how they can honour this institution’s long and proud legacy of service to Fiji.  And we don’t care if you are a teacher, a parent, or an overly-involved alumnus ¬¬– the Government, through our Ministry of Education, won’t tolerate anyone seeking to stand in between Fijian students and their futures. 
 
Our students learn as much from their teachers as they do at home – maybe more. And the example set by teachers can set students on a course that defines their life, for good or for ill. With so much riding on the quality and professionalism of your School’s leadership and teaching staff, we can never settle for anything less than the best. The better your principals are, the better your teachers are, and the better your coaches are, the better off every RKS student will be. That principle is bigger than education – it applies to every aspect of society. If you’re fighting for your life on a hospital operating table, you want the best doctor available. If your house is on fire, you want the best firefighting team rushing to your rescue. And with the world beset by the COVID-19 pandemic; you most definitely want the best of the best of our Disciplined Forces standing guard at our borders. 
 
Seeking out the best and brightest isn’t complicated: You simply reward people based on how they perform and on what they achieve, not who they are, not based on their ethnicity, not based on their religion, and not based on where they come from.  That is what we mean when we say we are rewarding on the basis of merit. 
 
When I served in the Navy, you were promoted based on your performance. If some incompetent sailor assumed command because their father knew the right people or they were friends with a superior officer, their lack of qualifications could put lives at risk. We may not be at war here, but the same applies here at RKS. Take, for example, your new physics and biology lab. No person has a biological advantage in teaching biology ¬– it’s about having the right qualifications so that students can benefit from the right expertise.
 
Today you are students. But one day you will each be men of RKS. No matter what you do in life, you can bet that you will be better off having learned from the best teachers, and you can be quite sure your potential will be bigger in a merit-based society. 
 
When you begin your careers in whichever profession you choose, how do you want to be acknowledged? Do you want to lose out on a promotion to someone with better connections or a better family name? Of course not. Each of you – like every Fijian – should hold your future in your own hands. You should know that your achievement will reap rewards for your life, so you can provide for those you love and care about. Maybe that will be as a soldier, maybe as a doctor, maybe as an engineer, or maybe it will even be as a head of school. 
Whatever you do, you each deserve to know you will be judged on merit and that your hard work will see you to success. And you must always afford that same civility to others. 
 
So please, don’t spend your school days as a bully or as a disobedient student. Don’t spend your time looking down on others. Don’t waste your life pretending you are superior to anyone due to circumstances of birth, or any other superficial reason. Your nation needs better from you. You are students of a great school with a proud history. The values you live by reflect on this institution, they reflect on your families, and on your communities. If you adhere to high values, if you work hard and take advantage of the opportunities before you, each of you – along with your fellow students across the country – stand a big chance at becoming Fijis greatest-ever generation. 
 
Last weekend, I watched my Tailevu Team sadly fall to Nadi at Prince Charles Park. Unfortunately, home field advantage won out. It was tough to watch, but we all know that’s rugby. You win some, you lose some. But even after witnessing that defeat, I left that game proud and assured that Fijian rugby has some serious talent to pull from. Because after the dust settles from a fierce but friendly local competition, we are still all pulling for the same national team, Team Fiji.
 
We are not a nation of Nadi versus Tailevu, of Ba versus Labasa, or of Suva versus Nadroga. Nor are we a nation of RVS versus QVS, Marist, or any other school.  We are one nation. We are one people. When any of us succeed, we all do. And when we set out on a level playing field in Fijian society, everyone is better off. 
 
Today it is your task at this workshop to determine how RKS can play its role in that national effort; that unending journey to build a better nation, a stronger nation, a Fiji for all Fijians. 
 
Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you. 
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