Adventists in Fiji Fight to Regain Control over Their Schools

Seventh-day Adventists in Fiji are planning to fight the Fijian Government in court. Last month the Education Ministry of Fiji obtained an injunction against the church from fully privatizing one of its schools.

According to news reports, during 2014 to 2019 the Fijian Government has given $1.84 million dollars to Vatuvonu SDA College to “cover schools fees for the students, meals for the students, salaries for the teachers, textbooks, capital works and other essential educational expenditures.” [1]

Under the existing arrangement, Seventh-day Adventists own the property while the government pays the bills. This cozy relationship between church and state began to deteriorate when the Education Ministry of Fiji appointed a non-Seventh-day Adventist to head the college.” [2]

The church decided to make a complete break with the government and turn the school into a fully privatized institution, but the Fijian government sued them in court and won. Apparently, the church cannot just simply walk away from this complex relationship. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Fiji vows to fight for its right to regain control over its school.

When religious schools receive funding from the state, the state can potentially coerce the policies of the institution. The government can also dictate the school’s curriculum and force them to promote the LGBT+ agenda – however, this hasn’t been the case for Vatuvonu SDA College – at least not yet.

Taxpayer-subsidized parochial schools will eventually have to teach the government’s view on science, sex and gender. There will be no exceptions. It’s already happening in many other places. [3] The only safe road for religious schools that want to maintain their unique faith is to reject all government funding. Government funding always results in bureaucratic regulations and compliance to a secular, godless agenda.

Sources

[1] https://fijisun.com.fj/2019/04/16/high-court-orders-education-ministry-to-run-vatuvonu-sda-college/

[2] https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/388724/church-to-take-on-govt-in-fiji-court

[3] https://www.commentarymagazine.com/foreign-policy/europe/an-orwellian-education-law-in-u-k/