Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro says if the redeployment of funds from the Ministry would not have occurred in the 2024-2025 financial year, the over expenditure for the Ministry would have been $4.4 million.
Radrodro says the budgetary allocation provided to cater for the Ministry was $651 million, and it is
crucial to note from the onset that the Ministry of Finance had redeployed $14.3 million from this amount for other Ministries, leaving the Education Ministry with a budget of $636.7 million.
While clarifying the issue regarding the over expenditure, Radrodro says the Ministry of Education is the biggest employer in the country, employing around 13,800 employees consisting of both teaching and non-teaching employees stationed across the country in all four divisions with some based in very remote areas up the highlands while some are based across very remote islands in the maritime division.
Radrodro says the Ministry of Finance through former Finance Minister, Professor Biman Prasad had sought a Cabinet write off for $23.8 million over expenditure by the Ministry of Education.
He says following checks by the Ministry of Education, it was determined that the Ministry had sought a forecasted $23.8 million to complete the 2025 financial year following various unbudgeted expenditure by the Ministry.
Radrodro says the actual over expenditure was in fact $18.7 million.
He says in the interest of transparency, the over expenditure variances can be attributed to the essential and unavoidable costs which include $2.3 million for the ministerial policy to revise remuneration for employees following Qualification Upgrades and therefore 296 officers
were paid salary upgrades accordingly, $3.6 million - as per PSC financial regulations, payment of
Acting Allowance for teaching and non-teaching staff was incurred as teachers or staff had to be
temporarily replaced due to medical leave; maternity leave; study leave etc, $0.5 million – following a Cabinet approval in 2023, 13 School Chaplains were eventually recruited and co sharing between MOE
and the respective schools were paid out, and $4 million – Public Service Commission had mandated Regularization Circular 2/2024 on 18th of January 2024.
Radrodro says this was implemented under Viliame Gavoka and overseen by PS Selina Kuruleca whereby it was directed that MOE employees under Acting appointments were to be regularized pending their meeting stipulated conditions and with funding availability.
The Education Minister says the regularization Budget was provided for the financial year 2023-
2024 however this was removed by the Ministry of Finance for the financial year 2024-2025.
Radrodro says the MOE had therefore sought redeployment of funds from within the Ministry and had obtained Ministry of Finance approval to continue these payments.
He says it must be noted that a court decision by the Fiji Teachers Union challenging the legality of the Regularization exercise in Ministry of Education was received in 2025 that has since ruled the regularization to be irregular according to Law.
The Ministry of Education has sought advice from the Solicitor General’s Office on this ruling and is working with the Teacher Unions to amicably resolve this situation.
He also says $7 million was used for Salary Step-Up Adjustments for the regularized 4,731 staff was also implemented in March 2024 as per PSC Circular 2/2024, and $0.2 million was for Overtime Payments mainly for non-teaching staff.
Radrodro says over 500 new teacher appointments were made and over 30 curriculum advisory service staff were engaged.
He also reveals that with no salary reconciliation against Persons to Post available and being carried out, the over hiring occurred which is now being urgently addressed to ensure no future budgets are busted.
Radrodro says in addition, a number of staff were rehired by MOE and these include terminated teachers due to No Jab No Job policy and teachers who have won their No Corporal punishment court cases; as well as a number of employees rejoining the Ministry following the extension of retirement age to 60.
The Minister states that a lot of miscommunication and misleading statements have been shared in the
public domain especially on social media, with the intent to taint the Ministry and the work that is being carried out in a bad light.
