Around 350 qualified secondary school teachers are teaching in primary school – Singh

Minister for Employment and former Fiji Teachers Union General Secretary Agni Deo Singh says there is a need for Fiji to develop its Human Resource Plan to know which doctors or teachers we need in the country after revealing that about 350 secondary school teachers with secondary school qualifications are teaching in primary schools.

While responding to the question from FTU President, Sashi Mahendra Shandil during the National Council Meeting on the issue of shortage of labour in the country, Deo says the primary school sector is facing a huge problem in regards to the shortage of teachers and the secondary school sector is faced with a shortage of subject teachers.

He says some secondary teachers haven’t got a job for the last two years.

Meanwhile, FTU President Sashi Mahendra Shandil suggested that while the Government has forgiven the TELS debt of students, those on the National Toppers Scheme should serve more years compared to those who were on TELS.

Shandil says there should be a certain demarcation between those on Toppers and those who just entered tertiary institutions with an entry point mark.