Parliament Bus ‘on the move’ after a lapse of four years
Twenty secondary schools and one Special School will be covered in the Northern Division in a span of two weeks under the ‘Parliament Bus’ programme of the Fijian Parliament.
After a lapse of four years, the Civic Education and Media team picked up with their programme last week in the Bua and Cakaudrove provinces, covering ten secondary schools and Savusavu Special School.
The main aim of the programme is to educate students and teachers about the roles and functions of Parliament, works of Parliament and how they can engage with Parliament.
In Bua, the team started from Immaculate Conception College followed by Ratu Luke Secondary School then to Uluivalili College along Savusavu West Coast Road.
The Principal of Immaculate Conception College Ms Kenesi Volavola thanked the Parliament Bus team for visiting their school as the last time they were visited was in 2018.
“The presentation was refreshing and enlightening and the students were fortunate to gain first-hand information on how the Parliament is run and the making of laws in Fiji and we are honoured to be the first school to have been visited by the team,” Ms Volavola said.
On Tuesday, the team visited Navatu Secondary School and Vatuvonu Secondary School then travelled 110km to reach Napuka Secondary School, situated at the end of the Hibiscus Highway.
The Principal of Napuka Secondary School Mr Ramesh Naicker acknowledged that Napuka Secondary School is one of the remote secondary schools in Cakaudrove and thanked the team for bringing Parliament to them.
“Our students do not have the privilege to visit Parliament and having the team here, our students have been enlightened on the various roles and functions of Parliament and what actually happens in Parliament.”
“We are quite happy that whatever is being delivered will not only enlighten our students but will also help our Year 10 in their learning process.”
Similar sentiments were echoed by the Savusavu Secondary School Assistant Principal, Mr Shamal Karan. He also encouraged students to share the knowledge with their peers.
“We thank the Parliament Bus programme for coming to schools in the Northern Division. Many things shared was new to me also.”
“To you students, if you learn something and keep it to yourself, it is of no use. Whatever you have learnt today, share this information with your friends, classmates and even your family members in the village.”
Year 13 student of Saqani High School, Natoni Sadrugu thanked the Parliament Bus team for bringing Parliament to their school.
“I’ve been attending Saqani High School for the past five years and this is the first time for us to listen to this programme.”
“We only hear about Parliament but we have never seen or set foot inside Parliament. Our school is in the village and it is hard for us to visit Parliament, so thank you very much for coming as we now learn about Parliament and what happens inside Parliament. Whenever we can go to Suva, we will try our best to visit Parliament.”
Other secondary schools in Bua and Seaqaqa will be visited this week, ending the programme on Friday at Nadogo Secondary School and Naleba College along Wainikoro road.
The programme includes a 30-minutes presentation on the roles and function of Parliament, Question and Answer with presentation of prizes which includes 32GB USBs, Parliament pencil case, cap, key tag, mug and Parliament bag.
Display includes the banners of Speakers of Parliament, Prime Ministers, Leaders of Opposition and other items such as the Senate’s mace, sand-timer, a copy of the Hansard report, an Annual Report and an old wig.
The programme has been made possible through the generous support of the Governments of Australia, Japan and New Zealand under the UNDP Fiji Parliament Support Project.
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