These are the lead stories on the front page:
PAGE 1
Make peace
MAKE peace not war. That was the crux of an urgent plea from former Nabua resident and internationally acclaimed sevens rugby icon Waisale Serevi. He said he was disappointed with the disunity between Mead Road Housing and Sukanaivalu Rd youths which led to violent and bloody brawls recently. Serevi said he was ready to speak to the youths and to bring unity back to the place he once called home. Check out the in-depth pieces and more from Serevi inside on Pages 26 and 27.
SODELPA developments
Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu arriving at the SODELPA meeting at the Southern Cross Hotel conference room in Suva on Friday, March 19, 2021. Picture: JONACANI LALAKOBAU
Rakesh Kumar
15 April, 2021, 7:00 pm
Primary school head teachers during the Fiji Head Teachers Association conference at the FMF
Gymnasium in Laucala Bay, Suva last year. Picture: File/JONA KONATACI
The Fiji Teachers Union (FTU) says there should be a policy on the rights of teachers.
General secretary Agni Deo Singh said teachers were unfairly constrained in trying to execute their duties because any attempt to bring order in the classroom could bring them under scrutiny.
He said they would submit a request to the Education Ministry on the issue.
“Teachers have been constrained by very tight rules imposed on them to the extent that they can be questioned for using a harsh tone,” he said.
Fiji Teachers Union national elections begins today fijivillage.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fijivillage.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Wanshika Kumar
Fiji s Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem. Picture: FT FILE
Fiji’s Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem has urged all members of the Fiji Teachers Union (FTU) to come out and vote for their union representatives in the upcoming national election scheduled for later this week.
He said the office had extended polling to two days considering the low turnout at the previous elections in 2019.
“Based on the experience from the last elections, the Fijian Elections Office has this time extended polling to be done on two days,” Mr Saneem said.
He said in the previous election, only 500 of the 4556 members voted.
Talebula Kate
13 April, 2021, 7:30 am
Fiji Teachers Union members at a recent AGM at Rishikul College. Picture: JONA KONATACI/FT FILE
The national elections for the Fiji Teachers Union (FTU) will be conducted on Friday and Saturday – April 16-17 – this week.
The Fijian Elections Office (FEO) that will be conducting the elections has indicted that the polling time will be from 3pm to 5pm on Friday, and from 9am to 3pm on Saturday.
Twenty-two polling venues will be opened around the country to cater for the 4917 union members who will be casting their votes.
After voting closes at 3pm on Saturday, counting will commence at all the polling stations.