Gurkul Primary School was the first substantive school for Fiji Indians established in Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

 in 1918. Its establishment, coincided with the formation of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji

Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji

The Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji is the national body for all the Arya Samajs in Fiji. It was formed in 1918 and registered as a religious body through the efforts of Manilal Doctor, who was in Fiji from 1912 to 1920 at the behest of Mahatma Gandhi to provide legal assistance to the Fiji Indians...

, the Arya Samaj organisation that manages the school. The school is located at Saweni near Lautoka

Lautoka

Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji and the second largest in the South Pacific. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi, and is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is known as the Sugar...

 in the western side of the island of Viti Levu

Viti Levu

Viti Levu is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji, the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.- Geography and economy :...

.

In 1916, at the first convention of the Arya Samaj in Fiji, it was decided to establish an Arya Samaj School either in Suva or Lautoka but later that year it was decided to establish the school in Lautoka as the members of the Arya Smaj in that area had shown a greater enthusiasm and collected more funds. The school was completed in 1918 but officially opened by the District Commissioner on 7 November 1919.

Many famous Fiji Indians have taught at the school, including Ami Chandra

Ami Chandra

Pandit Ami Chandra Vidyalankar came to Fiji, from India in 1927 at the behest of the Arya Samaj, which wanted to improve the education standard of Fiji Indian students and promote Arya Samaj in Fiji. He led a busy life in Fiji, being an educationist, Arya Samaj preacher, labour leader, football...

, Ayodhya Prasad

Ayodhya Prasad

Ayodhya Prasad Sharma was an Indo-Fijian farmers’ leader and politician, who formed the most successful farmers’ union in Fiji and forced the Colonial Sugar Refining Company to make concessions to farmers after 60 years of complete control over Fiji’s economy...

, B. D. Lakshman and Kundan Singh Kush

Kundan Singh Kush

Thakur Kundan Pal Singh Kush was an Arya Samaj missionary and teacher who arrived in Fiji, from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India in 1928. He first taught at the Dharamshala School in Nausori where he later became the founding Head Teacher of Vunimono Arya School in 1929...

. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, students from the school were sent to India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 to pursue further education.

In the 1970s a secondary school was also built at the site and in 2005 the University of Fiji

University of Fiji

The University of Fiji is a university based in Saweni, Lautoka, Fiji. It was established in December 2004 under academic leadership of the Fiji Institute of Applied Studies and financial sponsorship of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji, a Hindu religious organization dedicated to education...

was also established at the same location.