Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro says he believes that teachers are making generalised statements regarding the concerns raised in the West about student absenteeism during the Education Act review consultations.
This was in response to a question raised on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan about the perception that some students are becoming lazy because they know their parents no longer need to pay school fees.
Radrodro says students attend school every day however he had no data when asked to provide evidence.
He says that student enrollment has increased by 5,000 from last year to this year.
The Minister says he does not have concrete data to confirm the full extent of the absenteeism issue.
Radrodro also highlighted that the Ministry has been conducting school visits to address this important issue by emphasising the roles of parents, teachers, and students in ensuring that every child attends school.
Radrodro adds that every stakeholder must remember that it takes a whole village to raise a child, therefore, the Ministry is requesting the support of the Vanua, the community, households, parents, guardians, uncles, aunties, and other stakeholders to ensure students attend school regularly.
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