A large pupil to teacher ratio, lack of quality teacher training and resources, and poor infrastructure in schools all pose considerable barriers to young people’s prospects at school and beyond in Fiji. 

This poses significant challenges to  both students and teachers. The demands of the Fijian Syllabus are high while there remains a huge range of abilities among children in the classroom. Frequently children become good mechanical readers through learning by rote but lack the comprehension skills to use their reading to learn. 

Teachers lack the capacity in time, resources and expertise to  differentiate teaching and learning, leaving a large number of students  falling well below requirements and as a result disengaging from  education. This has and continues to result in a culture where by formal education is seen by many as irrelevant for daily life. 

Education in Fiji is subject largely to a one-size-fits-all approach which fails to cater for the diversity of abilities and learning styles. This, combined  with class size and an educational culture of low expectations, leads  to significant challenges in terms of classroom management and  behaviour, further hindering engagement in teaching and learning for  students.In the first instance, our education projects in Fiji increase the capacity of the school through the provision of our volunteers. This enables  them both to assist teachers in the classroom, supporting students and  contributing resources, and to offer a range of activities through which  pupils can be given focused input.

Our program works in partnership with local schools and builds the capacity of teaching staff and management through the professional  development and the sharing of resources. 

In 2018, we will primarily be using funds to support the basic provisions for students.