The resignation of an average of 93 teachers per month from the Ministry of Education between January 1st and August 31st this year has raised serious concerns about the state of Fiji’s education system.

This alarming statistic, which includes educators from early childhood to secondary schools as well as administrative staff, was highlighted by Fiji Teachers Union General Secretary Muniappa Goundar.

Goundar also revealed a current shortage of approximately 560 teachers, a gap the Ministry is actively working to fill, with new graduates expected to be part of the solution. However, the situation remains critical as educators continue to leave for other professions or overseas opportunities.

“From 1st of January till 31st of August, in regards to ECE, the admin office at Marela and other headquarters of the Education Ministry, as well as primary and secondary, it comes to an average of 93 per month. That is the number of resignations that the ministry has received. So that means it’s an average of 93 per month that are living on our shores or leaving our profession to join other professions within the country.”

Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad, addressing the Fiji Principal Association conference, outlined the government’s plans to support the Ministry of Education, including efforts to improve salaries and job evaluations for teachers, acknowledging the issues within the education ministry that are under review.

“We can’t fix it overnight. We have started by ensuring that we look at the salaries of our teachers and our civil servants. We moved away from contractual employment. We wanted to give more permanence and security of jobs for our people, our leaders in the school system, and teachers generally, and we’ve done that. The review of the public service, the issues within the Ministry of Education, in terms of salaries, state movements, and job evaluation—these things can’t be fixed overnight.”

Education Permanent Secretary Selina Kuruleca also highlighted that the Ministry, through the coalition government, is doing what is best for teachers through policies, as retention of teachers or retention of current employees is cheaper than trying to get new people.

Meanwhile, 179 school heads from across Fiji are attending the Fiji Principal Association’s 130th Conference in Labasa. The conference, which runs until Thursday, is focused on the theme “Coping with Fluidity in a Rapidly Evolving Education Sector”.