The Fijian Teachers Association is disappointed by the comments made by the Minister of Education Premila Kumar in labelling teachers as unqualified and is asking the Minister to apologise to all teachers in the country, however, the Permanent Secretary for Education Dr Anjeela Jokhan says diploma and certificate holders cannot be classified as qualified teachers.
FTA General Secretary, Paula Manumanunitoga says teachers have undergone three years of extensive teacher training to receive their certificates and become a fully-fledged qualified teacher and they are questioning the Minister and the Permanent Secretary why are they labelling them as unqualified.
Manumanunitoga claims that all primary school teachers are qualified as they underwent training in teacher training institutions authorised by previous governments.
He says for teachers teaching in secondary schools, they have a Bachelors Degree in Education and they also undergo extensive training to become a qualified teacher.
The General Secretary says they understand that a reform was introduced in the country by the government in 2017 and he is questioning if there was thorough research done on it.
He further says the Association believes that the reforms were a cut and paste from some other country or somewhere else.
Responding to the comments made by the General Secretary for the Fijian Teachers Association, the Permanent Secretary for Education Dr Anjeela Jokhan says there are 3 levels of qualifications in teacher training; certificate, diploma and degree and as per the Teacher Remuneration Policy of the Ministry, a fully qualified teacher is one who has a degree in teaching.
She says those with diplomas and certificates are not fully qualified and this includes Assistant Teachers (diploma holders) and Classroom Assistants (certificate holders).
Dr Jokhan says these diplomas and certificate holders cannot be classified as qualified teachers.
She says the unions were fully aware the Job Evaluation Exercise in 2017 and they knew that this exercise took place.
The Permanent Secretary adds the Teacher Remuneration Policy has been in effect since 2018 which clearly sets out the qualification requirements for teachers.
Dr Jokhan says until today, the unions have never opposed this and the Ministry is appalled that they oppose it or claim not to know it.
She further says the reforms she highlighted are simply to meet the aspirations of the Fijian Government as stated in the National Development Plan to improve the quality and access to education for all Fijian children.
Dr Jokhan says they want to benchmark against best international practices but the reforms are Fiji’s and what is in the best interest of the children, parents and nation as a whole.
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