Around 300 student teachers staged a march in Suva in 1984 to express their discontent with the Government’s volunteer service scheme. The demonstrators, made up of students from the University of the South Pacific and the Fiji Institute of Technology, traveled to the office of the Minister for Education, Dr. Ahmed Ali, demanding that he address them directly.
However, Deputy Secretary for Education, Hari Ram, informed the protestors that Dr. Ali was in Labasa “on business” and accepted two petitions on his behalf. As reported by The Fiji Times on October 20, 1984, the petitions, which garnered around 500 signatures, criticized the scheme initiated by Dr. Ali, labeling it as “partial slavery.”
Chanting “We want justice, Ali must go… Ali must go,” the student teachers marched for approximately 30 minutes from the Suva bus stand to the Ministry of Education head office on Selbourne Street. They adorned black bands around their heads and carried placards with messages such as “Fiji is not for a dictator” and “Why we; why not you Ali.”
The rally drew attention from office workers, halting activities at the Ministry of Education as many rushed to the windows and doors to observe the protest. Gyaneshwar Raju, a leader among the student teachers, stated, “We came here to protest in the Pacific way and we have done that even though Ali may have run away.”
The two petitions outlined 25 points, including a vote of no confidence in Dr. Ali and his permanent secretary, Narsi Raniga.