The Education Ministry is stressing that vernacular classes should be treated as equally important as any other subject in schools.

In a statement, Education Minister Filipe Bole said that children at school should be given the opportunity to express themselves freely in their own languages without fear of victimization.

Bole said that students should be allowed to use whatever medium of communication appropriate to particular context so that they maintain a sense of belonging to their language and culture.

He added that schools and school communities play a vital role in the preservation of indigenous languages, especially for the i-Taukei language, and that schools can also advocate to the families in their community that the family is the first school where the child hears, sees, imitates and practices new knowledge and skills.

Bole said therefore, parents are reminded of their important role in instilling to the young minds their only genuine mother tongue and its culture.

The ministry through its Curriculum Development Unit, had developed syllabuses for the vernacular languages such as the i-Taukei language, Rotuman, Hindi and Urdu from Class 1 to Form 7 and also supports the teaching of languages such as Telegu, Tamil, French, Chinese, for minority groups, in few schools in Fiji.

 
Story by: Sofaia Koroitanoa