The Ministry of Education is currently awaiting initial engineering reports regarding Vatuwaqa Primary School before proceeding with any further steps. Education Minister Aseri Radrodro informed Parliament that engineers from NRW Macallan (Fiji) Ltd have performed a detailed inspection of the fire-damaged buildings alongside a team from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
An incident on December 12, 2022, resulted in one school block being completely destroyed by fire and another sustaining partial damage, with preliminary reports indicating that the fire broke out around 2 am. The National Fire Authority (NFA) later classified the incident as suspected arson on December 13.
Radrodro also mentioned that several other schools have faced similar fire-related incidents. Ongoing rehabilitation efforts are underway at Lelean Memorial School and Vanuakula Catholic School in Waidina, Naitasiri. He noted that the rehabilitation of Degei House at Ratu Kadavulevu School (RKS) is nearing completion and is expected to be finalized during the school’s upcoming 100-year centennial celebration next week.
Additionally, the dormitories of Sukuna House at RKS and Verata House and Rewa House at Queen Victoria School (QVS) are included in this year’s budget, with preliminary work already started, and a tender is anticipated to be issued by the end of the month. Radrodro also highlighted that other schools, such as Ba Special School, that have suffered from fire incidents are being prioritized for rehabilitation this financial year.
To address these issues, the Ministry has established a Rehabilitation Unit within the Asset and Infrastructure Section, with plans to hire rehabilitation staff during the first quarter of the financial year. Radrodro stated that once the unit is operational, they will review all scoping reports and drawings provided by lead consultants linked to the former Construction Implementation Unit (CIU) of the ministry.