One hundred and six students at St Thomas Primary School in Lautoka were officially inducted as prefects yesterday, the school announced, marking the appointment of its senior student leaders for the year. Heading the student council are headboy Inia Yalayala and headgirl Viniana Waqarua.
The induction ceremony at the school brought together the new cohort of prefects, who will take on leadership and supervisory responsibilities among their peers. School manager and Our Lady of Perpetual Help priest Father Veremo Dovarua delivered the address, using the occasion to stress the spiritual and moral dimensions of leadership.
“I was reminding them what the Lord Jesus said that I came not to be served, but to serve,” Father Dovarua said, urging the students to adopt a posture of service rather than seeking status. He told the prefects the “onus is on them to be the best that they can be in the capacity of being prefects” and to model patience and respect in their daily conduct.
Father Dovarua also emphasised obedience to school rules and consistent fulfilment of duties, saying prefectship is practical service that must be carried out every day. “So, the onus is on them to be the best… and to show respect perhaps, to be obedient to the school,” he added, and urged them not to look down on fellow students as they performed their roles.
School leaders said the induction is intended to set the tone for the prefects’ year of service and leadership. St Thomas Primary has placed the newly appointed prefects at the centre of efforts to foster a respectful and inclusive school environment, with the priest-manager framing their responsibilities as both community-oriented and faith-driven.
The appointments come at the start of the school term, with the student council expected to begin carrying out its duties in classrooms, assemblies and other school activities in the weeks ahead. Father Dovarua’s message to “serve” rather than seek to be served will be the guiding theme as the prefects settle into their roles.
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