Education Minister, Doctor Mahendra Reddy stressed that students that have access to secondary schools in their areas will no longer be admitted in government boarding schools.
Doctor Reddy said the students already in these schools will not be affected and will be allowed to complete their education up to Year 13.
However new students going into Adi Cakobau School, Queen Victoria School, Natabua High School, Ratu Kadavulevu School and Labasa College from next year will come from rural and maritime areas where no secondary schools are available for these students.
Doctor Reddy said there is a misconception being created that this only applies to ACS, QVS and RKS.
He said this applies to all government boarding schools as many underprivileged students from the rural areas have been missing out due to priority given to students in the urban areas based on certain connections.
Doctor Reddy said the population numbers are low in some of the rural areas and new schools cannot be built in these areas.
President of the QVS Old Boys Association, Anasa Vocea said the Minister should be aware of the history of schools like QVS and he disagrees with the policy to only allow students from rural areas to go to QVS.
However Doctor Reddy stressed that his job is to raise benchmarks and to ensure that the disadvantaged in the rural areas are assisted.
He said the old students networks are not being blamed as the Ministry allowed this to happen over the past years.
