CathNews New Zealand

The Attorney General of Fiji Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum had drawn a distinction between schools with ethnic names and schools with religious names.

He says schools with ethnic names are not fully inclusive of other races but schools with religious names are OK.

Speaking at Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School prize-giving ceremony in Voloca, Dreketi, he said, “Take for instance this school (Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School) — it does not limit students because of their religion, in fact it takes all races and children of different religious backgrounds.”

In 2012 all schools in Fiji were requested by the Ministry of Education to remove ethnic words from their names.

In May 2012 Education Ministry Permanent Secretary Doctor Brij Lal said 10 schools with which described themselves in ethnic terms had already changed their names and had been issued with new registration certificates.

Source

• FBC+
• Fiji Times
• Image: Embassy of Japan in Fiji

Additional reading

• Muslims call for banning of ethnic schools
• Ethnic Balance in the Fiji Military

News category: Asia Pacific.