BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
THE Honiara Senior High School Principal, Mr. Allen Ketei, was honored with the opportunity to host this year’s annual International Education Day 2024 celebrations on Friday.
The event’s theme, “Learning for Lasting Peace,” which celebrates the role of education in nation-building, development, and peace, saw the presence of government leaders, respective school teachers, students, education partners, and stakeholders in Honiara.
As the host, Mr. Ketei told Sunday Isles that it was an opportunity for his students to interact, learn, and know about the purpose of the global event. He believed that the event had a lasting impact on all students and participants.
“It is an annual event, and bringing all the students from different schools with our students here at Honiara High School with stakeholders and aid donors is a great opportunity to experience and express ourselves about the importance of learning.
“It’s good to have students, teachers, and all the stakeholders highlight the theme of learning for lasting peace. We learn, we promote in life, and we learn good things that bring peace to communities. Learning is about sharing ideas and stories,’’ Ketei said.
He said that one of the highlights of the one-day event was the Tok-stories session, where students shared their thoughts about their learning and their future.
Principal Ketei emphasized the significance of this event, stating that International Education Day also gives students or schools the opportunity to interact with aid donors and various partners to see what our commitments are and the challenges of going forward in the education journey.
“I hope my students from Honiara High School will benefit as hosts for this program.
“The theme for this year reflects learning as a big process that involves parents and teachers.
“It’s all about sharing ideas. We share what we don’t know; we share our stories, experiences, and examples to know how we can learn and progress.
“From our school perspective, as an organized institution where we classify students based on their experience and level from Forms 4 to 7, the process is there. It’s about students coming together, getting involved, getting promoted to another level, and progressing in life,’ he added.
Mr. Ketei, however, said that there are also challenges, such as financial or space, for students.
“Right now, Honiara Senior High School does not have space for Form 4 students after the classrooms were burned down during the 2021 riot. So it is important for stakeholders to look at such problems and improve its services,’’ he said.
