EU assistance yields benefits for Fiji primary education

Submitted by Narayan24 on Tue, 09/02/2010 - 8:29am

playground equipment and water tanks to two primary schools in Levuka, Ovalau.

Through the EU-funded Fiji Education Sector Programme (FESP), the European Union has invested more than F$50 million in the last few years to help provide all children of Fiji with a decent education.

This has gone into building 229 structures in 162 schools across 18 islands in the Fiji group. By the end of January 2010, 124 buildings in 102 schools had been completed. The rest are underway and will be finalized before the end of this year.

“It is no exaggeration to say that after the completion of the Fiji Education Sector Programme at the end of this year, almost every school student in Fiji will be able to say they have experienced the positive results of our assistance,” said Ambassador Wiepke van der Goot, Head of EU Delegation for the Pacific.

“Together, we will have accomplished a massive leap forward in education, especially for rural and remote primary schools.”

Ambassador van der Goot was chief guest at two FESP-funded projects on Ovalau. In the morning, he inaugurated a new playground and handed over a dining hall, kitchen and teachers’ quarters to the administrators of Viro District Primary School at Levuka in Ovalau. The project was completed at a total cost of F$253,550. In the afternoon, Ambassador van der Goot was at Marist Convent School, also at Levuka, to view two water tanks donated by the Fiji Education Sector Programme at a cost of F$16,000.

The European Union, through FESP, has several more projects in Ovalau and in neighbouring Moturiki. Among others, the Programme provided water tanks and fencing to Bureta District School at a cost of F$15,000, teachers’ quarters and toilets to Ratu Seru Primary School at a total cost of F$209,000, and a solar power unit to Moturiki District School at a cost of F$84,000.

During the ceremony, Ambassador van der Goot said the European Union was the world’s largest aid donor and had a strong interest in the prosperity and well-being of the people of the Pacific. 'We believe that you can only develop in a sustainable way if you are able to manage your human and natural resources carefully and for the long term benefit of your future generations," he added.

SOURCE: EU/PACNEWS