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RACIST REDDY: 80 Percent of I-Taukei principals and head teachers are incompetent and 50% of 'KaiIndia' head teachers and principals; Education Minister doesn't subscribe to Bainimarama's 'We all Fijians'

5/7/2015

14 Comments

 

Fijileaks: The audio recording of Reddy's racist outbursts on 10 June at Warwick! In case you are experiencing problems listening to the audio, please listen to it in 'Chrome'

Islands Business
11 June at 19:36

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=426628137517158&id=290491571130816&__mref=message_bubble

STRONG lobbying by old students and parents has forced Fiji's education ministry to rescind the transfer of the head of a prominent government school.

Queen Victoria School Principal Silivio Tawake was ordered to leave the institution immediately by Principal Education Officer Tevita Bure acting on Minister Mahendra Reddy 's instructions.

The decision was made after a parent removed his sons in forms three and four after alleging they were bullied at the school.

After making a complaint directly to the minister, the parent failed to wait for a meeting with the principal and ministry officials on Saturday night.

Bure was at a meeting at the school on Sunday night and submitted his report to Reddy on Monday. The next day the principal was ordered to leave immediately.

But old boys President Anasa Vocea and his deputy Akuila Waradi door stopped Reddy at the Warwick Resort on the Coral Coast and questioned his decision.

After a hasty discussion Reddy agreed to rescind his earlier order and directed Bure to stop the transfer.

A representative of the parents and teachers association was also present at the meeting and defended the principal's record over his six months at the school.

The current principal was transferred to QVS from Vunisea, Kadavu by the ministry at the beginning of 2015.

Fijileaks: We are publishing the article by Jioji Kotobalavu in response to Minister for Education Mahendra Reddy on the "Importance of recognizing the cultural context". The version which appeared on page 13 of Saturday, 4 July in the Fiji Times is a shortened one. Here is the full statement below:

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The Importance of Understanding the Cultural Context

By Jioji Kotobalavu


I am prompted to write this response after reading of comments by the Minister of Education, Dr Mahendra Reddy, as reported in your [Fiji Times] issue on June 30, 2015. Dr Reddy questioned the propriety of the principal, the manager and leaders of a school in Nadroga in asking for a iTaukei head teacher at a primary school where the majority of the students are iTaukei. The Minister was reported as saying that such attitude from school heads “who are obsessed with ethnicity” needed to stop immediately, adding that the Ministry should determine who will be head teacher because it was paying for the salary.

The purpose of this article is not to criticize the Minister but to highlight the importance of those in government authority being aware of the cultural context when communicating with community members in our multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. This is to avoid the kind of inter-cultural misunderstanding which could lead to resentment and undermine social stability and harmony.

The Minister seems to think that simply because the 2013 Constitution has made all of us as citizens of Fiji to be “Fijians”, this is all that matters. It is not so, and I would advise him as a scholar of exceptional intelligence to read his 2013 Constitution thoroughly because the authors have very carefully and adroitly crafted into it several identities each with a particular constitutional purpose. Let me explain.

The first identity specified in the Constitution is in the Preamble. It opens with the words “We, the people of Fiji”. It then identifies who the people of Fiji are. They are the iTaukei and Rotumans as the indigenous peoples of Fiji, and the descendants firstly of the indentured labourers from British India, and secondly of settlers and immigrants who followed in coming to make Fiji their home.

The constitutional significance of this identity of “we, the people” is threefold. Firstly, it is the people in this holistic sense who are the repository of the sovereignty of the State of Fiji. Secondly, it is the people as the source of the sovereign power of the State who constituted the State of Fiji in its 2013 Constitution, providing for its system of parliamentary democracy and government, and for the human rights of all its citizens. Thirdly, it is the people in exercising this constituent power who have legitimated the 2013 Constitution.

The 2013 Constitution, as the constituted creation of “we, the people”, then sets out several identities.

The first and most important of this is set out in section 5 (1). As citizens of Fiji, we are all Fijians, and as Fijians we have equal status and identity. This means that we are equally entitled to the rights and privileges of citizenship and that we are equally subject to the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.

In the Bill of Rights, in chapter 2, one can see three identities referred to in it. Most of the fundamental rights enumerated in it apply to “every person” or “a person”. The person here refers not just to citizens of Fiji but also include a non-citizen who has been granted the necessary visa as resident or as visitor to be in Fiji. But the political rights set out in section 23 apply only to citizens of Fiji.

The recognition of the iTaukei and Rotumans in the Preamble as Fiji’s indigenous peoples and the protection under section 28 in the Bill of Rights of their customary ownership of their communal lands are constitutionally very significant for three considerations.

Firstly, it is the same recognition and protection that were granted to them by the British Crown when it accepted the deed of cession of Fiji’s sovereignty from the Fijian chiefs in 1874 and the Rotuman chiefs in 1879.

Secondly, it was because of that British recognition, under its common law, of Fijian and Rotuman native titles to their customary lands, territories and resources that today the iTaukei, for example, still own 91 per cent of all lands in Fiji as their communal lands.

Thirdly, by being a party to the ILO Convention 169 on the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, the State of Fiji has recognized the right of the indigenous iTaukei and Rotuman peoples under international law to self-determination. At the very least, this obligates the State and all its agents to consult the iTaukei and Rotumans on any matter that is of concern to them about their customary lands and culture.

So, had the Minister of Education been aware of this right of the indigenous iTaukei and Rotumans to be consulted he would have been more sensitive to their concerns and carefully explain his Ministry’s intentions. He could have assured them that he would take into account their cultural concerns in the deployment of teachers who will actually do the teaching. The head teacher is the school’s administrator, and the Minister could have cited the outstanding example of individuals like Amraiya Naidu when he was appointed Principal of Ratu Kadavulevu Secondary School. Under his stewardship, RKS produced its best results ever in Fiji’s external examinations. What was really important in the Minister of Education’s reported encounter was the need to be aware of the cultural context and to show sensitivity in the way he reacted.

Prime Minister Bainimarama set a splendid example in recognizing this when he recently officiated at a public ceremony at Raiwaqa/Raiwai.  It was all done in an iTaukei cultural context with traditional ceremonies of welcome and Christian prayers. The people were acting in a cultural context and were honouring him as Prime Minister and national leader. The Prime Minister could easily have told them that we are all Fijian citizens and equal in our right to human dignity, and to treat each other as equal in our individual human rights status and entitlement. He could also have reminded them that under the 2013 Constitution with its foundation in modern day liberalism, the State is required to remain neutral on religion and culture and to treat them as private and personal matters. But he recognized and respected the cultural context and the free wishes of the people to honour him according to their customs and tradition. He, for his part, felt emboldened to publicly declare that iTaukei culture is safe and secure.

Finally, the Honourable Minister for education ought to know the critical importance of the proper grounding of all children in their own vernacular language, especially in their early years of education up to class six. For the iTaukei, the protection of their customary lands and the proper knowledge and use of their own language are the two essential elements of sustaining their culture and their indigenous identity.

So, if the school manager, the landowners and the parents in a Taukei primary school are concerned about the ethnicity of the teachers who are being posted there by the Ministry, please do not jump to the conclusion that they are “racist” or “ethnic blinded”.

If you are patient and take the time in a culturally sensitive and appropriate manner to ascertain their concerns, you will surely find out that they genuinely care about their children being proficient in both their vernacular and English. If in your posting of teachers, you are not sensitive to this need for cultural differentiation, you will be perceived by the community of failing to act in good faith in discharging the public trust conferred upon you by your election to office. Worse still, you will be accused of manipulating the constitutional principle of common and equal citizenry for all “Fijians” in pursuance of a deliberate policy of cultural assimilation in schools.       




14 Comments
Chiku
5/7/2015 04:01:44 pm

This intellectually mediocre Mnister who jumped on the Bainimarama Khaiyum gravy train after the Coup thinks he has the panacea to all that ails Fiji's education sector without needing to draw on the knowledge - including the culturally relevant - knowledge of the others in contemporary Fiji society. Remember that other academic who turned politician in the Mara government and tried to poo poo the views of others?
He was never a success inolitics. At least he - the late Dr Ahmed Ali - was a thorough academic. This minister is very mediocre by contrast.b

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No Class
5/7/2015 08:06:31 pm

He may have the education but definitely lacks etiquette and diplomacy - not something that is acquired via academic learning. There is a whole lot more to education then just passing exams which the Minister is seriously lacking.

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Kavita
6/7/2015 03:35:44 am

His education is in agriculture. He is a wrong man in the right place. He has been put there by Ganesh chand so that ganesh controls fiji's education. Lacks the basics to run any corporate institution in fiji. His racial comments are not at all surprising but has been covering up his racial apathy by putting on a lot after his appointment. This wannabe minister is not genuuine and will destabilize the education sector.

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maro pito
5/7/2015 10:08:49 pm

transferring teachers from one school to another will not not improve their competency. 80% of fijian teachers and 50% of indian teachers as mentioned above should be terminated immediately.

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Because. ..
5/7/2015 11:14:13 pm

Ultimately the 2013 Constitution is a FRAUD. It does not enjoy the confidence and the WILL of We the People of Fiji.

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Concerned Oldscholer
5/7/2015 11:57:28 pm

Funny because the Principal of Nasinu Sec Sch has also been transferred from last Friday, and it's the same Principal who have changed and lifted Nasinu to where it is today.

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Lesu J
6/7/2015 03:05:13 am

Gone are the days where the PSC was the final administrative arbiter on such matters. The separation of political authority from administrative authority is no more because it's all about power play and the total control of civil servants at their mercy. Ministers will continue to make such whimsical decisions because they're not guided by administrative standards clearly set out under the General Orders. Instead, the Ministers now does the hiring and firing and answers to no one. But then, what can Unions do as toothless tigers? On the same note, how does the AG, as the sole interview panel, get to interview and decided on supervisory and management positions within his ministry? That's just shitty..but then some think this is democracy..

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rajend naidu
6/7/2015 03:55:23 pm

I can tell you from my own direct experience as a public servant in the Fiji public service that the PSC ceased to be the final arbiter on matters under its lawful jurisdiction long back. It became politicised after the first military coup of 1987 . Appointments, promotions , diplomatic postings all came under the political sway of the gang in government. Even disciplinary proceedings were used to take out people the gang did not like , the people who did not tow the line unquestioningly.
The only difference is that the Bainimarama gang has taken this political game to a new, unprecedented high. Politicisation of the public service and the PSC is now pervasive.

Johnny
6/7/2015 05:11:13 am

Dr. Reddy is perfectly correct. There is a lot of incompetency in the public service. This is because of the whom you know culture that has stemmed it's roots so firmly that meritorious individuals have no say. Public service can only improve if the right kind of people with a passion to serve rather than blow the trumpet for a political party are appointed. Malua fever and the kava sessions in schools need to stop completely as well. Most of it all, only those that score 280 plus should be given the chance to train to become a teacher. Imagine what IQ a person scoring 200 has and what knowledge he can pass to the students when he/she barely passed. Keep up the good work Dr.Reddy. Shallow minds are deemed to get intelligent ideas late to digest.

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Narrow Minded Idiot
6/7/2015 05:18:58 pm

Says the narrow minded idiot...stop generalizing. Open you mind. You may actually see the bully for who he really is.

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It's All About Control
6/7/2015 05:29:16 pm

Mr. Reddy likes to surround himself with 'KaiIndias'. Wonder why? Is is incapable of working with any other ethnic group? Does he not trust them? Does he feel threatened? Or is he better able to control the 'KaiIndias'. It's all about control, isn't it?

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Johnny's Baap
6/7/2015 11:02:07 pm

Mahendra has an agricultural background, and wantonness to be a public finance expert, would have been a suitable finance/agriculture minister in an already mediocre government. But in Fiji, a phd, regardless of how mediocre, is regarded as a authority in many things. For a while, Mahendra was a budding musician, a parcharak, a mediocre Dean, (thanks to Ganesh), and even mediocre Commerce Commissioner (Remember the banks and Air Fiji), and even immature as a minister. His latest outbursts is a clear indication of the opinion he has of his fellow sub-ordinates. Why does he not have the A$$ to sack the 80% of Fijian Teachers and 50% of Indian teachers - if he knows that they are incompetent and not doing anything about it, than he is wasting all the tax-payers money getting any salary. He should be fixing the problems for us.

Ooooooh! I forgot, he has an election in 2018, and the 80%/50% teachers and their families would be voting. Maleka.!

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Dino's watson
9/7/2015 02:16:58 am

Dr. Reddy is doing the right thing cleaning up the system. Jioji Kotabalavu is also ex QVS so no wonder he will criticise against the minister. He wants to maintain the elitness of QVS by sending his children and grand childrwn or great grand children to QVS. Stop bull shitting about Dr. Reddy not understanding cultural aspects. A fijian teacher can teach indians and vice versa you fool. Call a spade a spade. Good work you are doing Dr. Reddy standing up for us. This napotism at schools prioritising elite children over poor deserving island students should stop.

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fazia
13/7/2015 03:28:30 am

Dear all who think Dr Reddy is racist please keep in mind he is not.nearly all directors in his ministry is fijian.The PS in his ministry is Fijian.. Stop making your own conclusions when you guys don't know the true story.anyone can turn and twist the story. He is one of the most hardworking minister who cares for others more than himself. Why are u blaming this government aren't you all benefiting from the initiative this government is giving or is it just the indian' s or just Muslims ...no its all of us. All Dr Reddy is trying to do is give fiji citizen a better education, what's wrong in that? I believe all your families or relatives are benefiting from the initiative isn't it?

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