Teacher transfers will be considered to bring families together - Kumar

Education Minister Premila Kumar says in the current climate, teacher transfers will be considered to bring families together especially those who have been separated for a long period during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji.

Kumar says the Ministry tries to ensure teachers are transferred to where they are needed most, are safe and live close to their loved ones.

She confirms that the Ministry pays for the costs of teachers moving from one location to another.

Kumar says there are 13,200 teaching staff spread across 175 secondary schools, 735 primary schools and 871 early childhood education centres.

She adds the Ministry is managing employee transfers based on the Teacher Transfer Policy and Procedures. Kumar adds in the 2020 academic year, the Ministry facilitated 1,085 teacher transfers.

She revealed that for this year, the Ministry received 767 transfer applications. The Education Minister says the Ministry each year receives over 1,000 applications from teachers wishing to be transferred for many reasons such as wanting to be close to their families, to look after their sick family member, to join their spouse or they have served 3 years in a remote area and are now eligible for transfer.

She further says teacher transfers are also initiated by the Ministry when a teacher retires, resigns or passes away or when there is a shortage or surplus of teachers in a school.

Kumar says to manage a large number of teacher transfer requests, an annual teacher transfer window is opened where teachers can submit their transfer applications.

She adds this is done during the months of July and August when placements for the following year are being considered.

Kumar also says there are a number of factors that needs to be considered when one is processing teacher transfer applications.

This includes checking schools that may have surplus teachers, a replacement for a specific subject combination or a teacher's willingness to move.

Kumar says teachers can now apply for transfers using a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.