Education Among

The Fiji Indians

By Norma I. Jacobson

WELL, it’s a school to be proud of!”

I said, as we came out of the last class-room door a week ago. If only you could have been there you would have echoed* those words. Let me tell you what I saw there.

The school is located on a rise over looking the broad, green golf links, three miles out from Suva; the sea lies shim mering beyond. The building is well constructed, with many unique features.

In the class-room of the headmaster, Mr. Narian Singh (who, incidentally, spent several years at the Australasian Missionary College, Cooranbong, NSW), Indian boys and girls from 12 years up wards were competing in a maths, race.

Their work is very neat.

I was interested, too, .in the hand work novelties hanging round the wall, and the makers of the various articles were proudly pointed out. There were axes, Knives, guns, spoons, sandals, and little model chairs, ah carved from wood.

I was sure a shoemaker’s boy had made the sandals, but was told he was the son of a tailor. You never can tell!

In the next room, Mr. Buddhu held sway. They were doing English, so I asked co see their writing. Immediately, writing books came out with a flourish, and I was surprised at the good work done. The worx of one boy of 11 years was excellent.

The next class was 'outside on the grass, paired off and repeating memory work.

In each room there are beautiful black board drawings; but in one, particularly, I paused to admire the pictures entitled, “Love Your Enemies,” "God Made the World,” and a life-sized face of Christ called, “Jesus Loves Me,” drawn by an American soldier.

The little ones’ room held me the longest. Over 50 vivacious, dark-eyed children were there. They were not a bit nervous, and loved to demonstrate how well they could read —maybe because they knew I didn’t understand them. There were rows of British flags which they had made, strung across each corner; and they had cut out quite a large menagerie of cardboard animals, which circled the room. They make clever bedroom suites and cute furnishings from match boxes. On the spare blackboards, right across the room, the clever Indian lady teacher had drawn an array of beautiful big flowers. I lingered to look at those bundles of squirming energy, a whole roomful of brightness.

Over 200 pupils attend the Samabula primary school, one of many such mission schools established in Fiji for Fijians and Indians.