A model in human values
Timothy Naivaluwaqa (Friday, November 04, 2005) - copyrights Fiji times

LEARNING how to live your life in the proper way is the whole purpose of education.

But schools in Fiji seem to have moved away towards a greater emphasis on teaching students ways to earn a living.

According to Vishnu Deo, the chairman of the Sathya Sai Service organisation of Fiji, making up for this discrepancy was the main reason the organisation established the Sathya Sai School in Drasa, about 15 kilometres from Lautoka, five years ago.

The Sathya Sai School, located at the centre of the sugar cane farming community of Johnson, is the first of its kind in Fijis educational arena.

With a humble beginning of two classrooms and 25 students in class one and kindergarten, the school has grown to cater for students up to class six level.

With a current roll of 136 students, including a total of 55 children from the nearby village of Matawalu, construction is already underway to see that the class seven and eight streams are available next year.

What really sets this school apart from other primary schools in the country, is the type of lessons being provided.

Apart from following the standard, Ministry of Education curriculum for primary schools, the school offers its students lessons in human values.

Every day, the students of Sathya Sai go through human values classes designed to help them become better human beings.

Preaching the lessons of truth, right conduct, peace, love and non-violence, the teachers of Sai Sathya are determined to ensure the proper growth of their students educationally and spiritually.

Even though the school may at first appear to be a religious organisation, its management insists that it was established not to convert people but to make them better human beings in touch with what the organisation believes is the spirituality that lies within them.

Mr Deo said throughout the human value lessons, their teachers constantly remind themselves that they are teaching these values to a group of multi-racial and multi-religious children.

When we purchased the 36-acres in 1999, the Sathya Sai organisation was determined to develop a school that would make children realise the true benefits of human values, he said.

We believe that through teaching these values to children, we would be able to rid Fiji of the many social problems currently plaguing the country, said Mr Deo.

Providing free education to all students that attend Sathya Sai, we hope that lessons learnt within our gates are passed onto their parents and friends, said Mr Deo.

Many people might regard our school as a religious organisation. But even though we are funded by a religious organisation, we are not here to convert our students but to make sure they find a better way of life, said Mr Deo.

He said they were determined to make a huge contribution to Fijis future even though the school was the first and only educational institution of the Sathya Sai service organisation of Fiji.

School director Ambika Prasad said following the dream of the organisations founder, Sathya Sai Baba, that education be imparted to children in a different way, they had truly formed a model school.

Mr Prasad said social problems were rife in Fiji despite the majority of its people being educated, because human values were not being practiced.

He said without human values, people would never be able to change and the country would continue to be engaged in the battle against social degradation.

We follow our schools theme, Love All, Serve All. We appreciate all the different religions and their teachings so we do not intrude on the lessons of other religions, he said.

There is only one God with many names so we try and convert all the different rituals into service by encouraging our students to practice human values at all times, said Mr Prasad.

He said that with the belief that every individual was chosen by God to have different religious backgrounds, the school would continue with its work in ensuring the countrys future generation had a better chance in life.

During its five-year history, one of the major highlights in the schools life was the visit earlier this week by Works Minister Savenaca Draunidalo.

Mr Prasad said the visit by Mr Draunidalo had boosted the schools determination to continue with the its principles.

Mr Draunidalo said his visit to the school was an eye-opener of what a religious organisation could do for a country.

He said with basic human values being a key ingredient for better leadership, schools in Fiji should learn from the Sathya Sai Schools example and work towards a better country.

He also said he had learnt a lot on human values and the way it affected childrens lives just by observing the students of Sathya Sai during his visit.

Mr Draunidalo said after witnessing the benefits that such a program could bring to Fiji, he would personally take steps to ensure the Ministry of Education recognised the efforts of the Sai Sathya service organisation of Fiji and Sathya Sai School in helping create a better Fiji.

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LEARNING how to live your life in the proper way is the whole purpose of education.

But schools in Fiji seem to have moved away towards a greater emphasis on teaching students ways to earn a living.

According to Vishnu Deo, the chairman of the Sathya Sai Service organisation of Fiji, making up for this discrepancy was the main reason the organisation established the Sathya Sai School in Drasa, about 15 kilometres from Lautoka, five years ago.

The Sathya Sai School, located at the centre of the sugar cane farming community of Johnson, is the first of its kind in Fijis educational arena.

With a humble beginning of two classrooms and 25 students in class one and kindergarten, the school has grown to cater for students up to class six level.

With a current roll of 136 students, including a total of 55 children from the nearby village of Matawalu, construction is already underway to see that the class seven and eight streams are available next year.

What really sets this school apart from other primary schools in the country, is the type of lessons being provided.

Apart from following the standard, Ministry of Education curriculum for primary schools, the school offers its students lessons in human values.

Every day, the students of Sathya Sai go through human values classes designed to help them become better human beings.

Preaching the lessons of truth, right conduct, peace, love and non-violence, the teachers of Sai Sathya are determined to ensure the proper growth of their students educationally and spiritually.

Even though the school may at first appear to be a religious organisation, its management insists that it was established not to convert people but to make them better human beings in touch with what the organisation believes is the spirituality that lies within them.

Mr Deo said throughout the human value lessons, their teachers constantly remind themselves that they are teaching these values to a group of multi-racial and multi-religious children.

When we purchased the 36-acres in 1999, the Sathya Sai organisation was determined to develop a school that would make children realise the true benefits of human values, he said.

We believe that through teaching these values to children, we would be able to rid Fiji of the many social problems currently plaguing the country, said Mr Deo.

Providing free education to all students that attend Sathya Sai, we hope that lessons learnt within our gates are passed onto their parents and friends, said Mr Deo.

Many people might regard our school as a religious organisation. But even though we are funded by a religious organisation, we are not here to convert our students but to make sure they find a better way of life, said Mr Deo.

He said they were determined to make a huge contribution to Fijis future even though the school was the first and only educational institution of the Sathya Sai service organisation of Fiji.

School director Ambika Prasad said following the dream of the organisations founder, Sathya Sai Baba, that education be imparted to children in a different way, they had truly formed a model school.

Mr Prasad said social problems were rife in Fiji despite the majority of its people being educated, because human values were not being practiced.

He said without human values, people would never be able to change and the country would continue to be engaged in the battle against social degradation.

We follow our schools theme, Love All, Serve All. We appreciate all the different religions and their teachings so we do not intrude on the lessons of other religions, he said.

There is only one God with many names so we try and convert all the different rituals into service by encouraging our students to practice human values at all times, said Mr Prasad.

He said that with the belief that every individual was chosen by God to have different religious backgrounds, the school would continue with its work in ensuring the countrys future generation had a better chance in life.

During its five-year history, one of the major highlights in the schools life was the visit earlier this week by Works Minister Savenaca Draunidalo.

Mr Prasad said the visit by Mr Draunidalo had boosted the schools determination to continue with the its principles.

Mr Draunidalo said his visit to the school was an eye-opener of what a religious organisation could do for a country.

He said with basic human values being a key ingredient for better leadership, schools in Fiji should learn from the Sathya Sai Schools example and work towards a better country.

He also said he had learnt a lot on human values and the way it affected childrens lives just by observing the students of Sathya Sai during his visit.

Mr Draunidalo said after witnessing the benefits that such a program could bring to Fiji, he would personally take steps to ensure the Ministry of Education recognised the efforts of the Sai Sathya service organisation of Fiji and Sathya Sai School in helping create a better Fiji.

Back to Top of Article
LEARNING how to live your life in the proper way is the whole purpose of education.

But schools in Fiji seem to have moved away towards a greater emphasis on teaching students ways to earn a living.

According to Vishnu Deo, the chairman of the Sathya Sai Service organisation of Fiji, making up for this discrepancy was the main reason the organisation established the Sathya Sai School in Drasa, about 15 kilometres from Lautoka, five years ago.

The Sathya Sai School, located at the centre of the sugar cane farming community of Johnson, is the first of its kind in Fijis educational arena.

With a humble beginning of two classrooms and 25 students in class one and kindergarten, the school has grown to cater for students up to class six level.

With a current roll of 136 students, including a total of 55 children from the nearby village of Matawalu, construction is already underway to see that the class seven and eight streams are available next year.

What really sets this school apart from other primary schools in the country, is the type of lessons being provided.

Apart from following the standard, Ministry of Education curriculum for primary schools, the school offers its students lessons in human values.

Every day, the students of Sathya Sai go through human values classes designed to help them become better human beings.

Preaching the lessons of truth, right conduct, peace, love and non-violence, the teachers of Sai Sathya are determined to ensure the proper growth of their students educationally and spiritually.

Even though the school may at first appear to be a religious organisation, its management insists that it was established not to convert people but to make them better human beings in touch with what the organisation believes is the spirituality that lies within them.

Mr Deo said throughout the human value lessons, their teachers constantly remind themselves that they are teaching these values to a group of multi-racial and multi-religious children.

When we purchased the 36-acres in 1999, the Sathya Sai organisation was determined to develop a school that would make children realise the true benefits of human values, he said.

We believe that through teaching these values to children, we would be able to rid Fiji of the many social problems currently plaguing the country, said Mr Deo.

Providing free education to all students that attend Sathya Sai, we hope that lessons learnt within our gates are passed onto their parents and friends, said Mr Deo.

Many people might regard our school as a religious organisation. But even though we are funded by a religious organisation, we are not here to convert our students but to make sure they find a better way of life, said Mr Deo.

He said they were determined to make a huge contribution to Fijis future even though the school was the first and only educational institution of the Sathya Sai service organisation of Fiji.

School director Ambika Prasad said following the dream of the organisations founder, Sathya Sai Baba, that education be imparted to children in a different way, they had truly formed a model school.

Mr Prasad said social problems were rife in Fiji despite the majority of its people being educated, because human values were not being practiced.

He said without human values, people would never be able to change and the country would continue to be engaged in the battle against social degradation.

We follow our schools theme, Love All, Serve All. We appreciate all the different religions and their teachings so we do not intrude on the lessons of other religions, he said.

There is only one God with many names so we try and convert all the different rituals into service by encouraging our students to practice human values at all times, said Mr Prasad.

He said that with the belief that every individual was chosen by God to have different religious backgrounds, the school would continue with its work in ensuring the countrys future generation had a better chance in life.

During its five-year history, one of the major highlights in the schools life was the visit earlier this week by Works Minister Savenaca Draunidalo.

Mr Prasad said the visit by Mr Draunidalo had boosted the schools determination to continue with the its principles.

Mr Draunidalo said his visit to the school was an eye-opener of what a religious organisation could do for a country.

He said with basic human values being a key ingredient for better leadership, schools in Fiji should learn from the Sathya Sai Schools example and work towards a better country.

He also said he had learnt a lot on human values and the way it affected childrens lives just by observing the students of Sathya Sai during his visit.

Mr Draunidalo said after witnessing the benefits that such a program could bring to Fiji, he would personally take steps to ensure the Ministry of Education recognised the efforts of the Sai Sathya service organisation of Fiji and Sathya Sai School in helping create a better Fiji.

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source: Fiji times