Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has hailed TISI Sangam’s century-long contribution to education and nation-building as he addressed the organisation’s 100th anniversary celebration in Nadi, calling education “the one form of wealth that cannot be diminished.”
Speaking at the centenary event, Mr Rabuka said the Sangam was founded on a belief that education is the most durable remedy against hardship. “Its founders understood that land may be taken, and wealth may fade, but the power of an educated mind cannot be extinguished,” he said, praising the organisation’s outward-looking ethos that, while established to uplift South Indians in Fiji, embraced students of all backgrounds from its earliest schools.
This centenary year has been framed under the theme “Love, Light, and Faith,” a motif Mr Rabuka described as more than aspiration. He pointed to a string of commemorative activities — including the “Road to 100 Years” outreach that brought Sangam programmes to remote communities and the Sangam World Cup that engaged young people through sport — as evidence the theme has been enacted across the organisation’s work. “Our young people have shown that heritage is not a relic of the past but a source of strength for the future,” he said.
A notable recent development highlighted at the celebration is the revival of mother-tongue education within Sangam schools. Mr Rabuka positioned this move as aligned with the government’s vision of leveraging cultural diversity for sustainable development, saying the initiative reinforces cultural identity while strengthening Fiji’s multicultural fabric.
The scale of Sangam’s education network was underscored in the prime minister’s remarks. From its modest beginnings a century ago, the organisation now manages 21 primary schools, five secondary schools, 18 early childhood centres and the TISI Sangam College of Nursing in Labasa. Together, these institutions serve more than 10,000 students nationwide, a growth Mr Rabuka said reflects both reach and public trust in Sangam’s inclusive mission.
Throughout his address, the prime minister framed the Sangam’s century of work as integral to Fiji’s broader nation-building project, commending the organisation for producing “generations of skilled and principled citizens” and for fostering social cohesion through education, culture and service. He credited the Sangam’s founders and successive leaders for building an institution that turned a “history of hardship into a future defined by opportunity, service, and shared progress.”
The centenary marks a focal point for the Sangam’s renewed initiatives and public profile, with the outreach programmes and curriculum changes signalling a push to deepen cultural and educational engagement across Fiji’s rural and urban communities. The organisation’s leaders, alumni and students gathered in Nadi to mark the milestone, and the government’s public backing at the event signals continued political support for Sangam’s role in the national education landscape.
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