Speaker takes Parliament to the people

Students of Saint Francis College and Navunibitu Primary School were encouraged by the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Dr Jiko Luveni to study hard to become future Members of Parliament or even to become the Speaker.

The Speaker was at the school this morning for the ‘Meet the Speaker’ programme, a community engagement initiative of Parliament.

“Education is not just coming to school and going back as normal routine. You need to study hard and compete with your classmates.”

“This time will not come back again, so make good use of your time and continue to strive for excellence,” Hon. Dr Luveni said.

Mr Ravinal Prakash, teacher-in-charge of the Social Science Department said the ‘Meet the Speaker’ programme has been one of the successful programme held at the school.

“It has been very informative, precise and educational. To have a person of such a calibre to speak to our students has been a blessing for us.”

“I encourage other schools to have similar programme as it will set a platform for many students to know exactly of the proceedings in Parliament.”

Year 12 student Vasiti Bitunivalu said the programme was very informative.

“In class, I always ask a lot of questions on how Parliament works. Today I met someone that I dreamt to be like in future and that is Madam Speaker.”

Meanwhile, the Speaker also visited Rewasa village last night for the same programme. The village hall was full of men, women, youth and children who were eager to see and hear from the Speaker.

A lot of questions were raised during the programme and clearly showed that villagers were unaware of how Parliament works. The main objective of the Meet the Speaker programme was to inform and educate Fijians on the roles, works and how citizens can engage with Parliament.

This evening, the Speaker will visit Nanukuloa and Naiserelagi villages before returning to Suva tomorrow.

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