Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says the teachers’ salary issue should never have escalated this far, stressing that the immediate priority is to ensure all affected teachers receive what they are owed without further delay.
Rabuka says the Ministry of Finance will now assist in ensuring the affected teachers receive their outstanding salary payments.
He says whatever administrative or procedural issues may have occurred, teachers who reported for duty and carried out their responsibilities should not be left uncertain about when they will be paid.
This comes after the salaries of 134 teachers were stopped in Pay 18 of 2026 following a Ministry of Education payroll verification exercise which identified outstanding permanent appointment documentation.
Education Minister Aseri Radrodro has also confirmed that he instructed the Permanent Secretary for Education to seek assistance from the Permanent Secretary for Finance to have the affected payments processed immediately.
Rabuka says teachers hold a special responsibility in society as, after parents and families, they are among the principal guardians of young people.
He says families entrust their children to teachers every day to educate, guide and help prepare them for the future, and teachers should therefore be treated with the dignity, fairness and respect their service deserves.
The Prime Minister says he has been kept informed of the situation and expects the Ministries of Finance and Education to work together to resolve the outstanding issues without further delay.
Rabuka says there must also be a proper examination of how the situation arose and what improvements are needed to prevent a similar issue from happening again.
He says teachers should be able to focus on educating, guiding and caring for Fiji’s children rather than worrying about whether they will receive the salaries they have earned.
