Litia Cava 
Primary and secondary school teachers are leaving the country not only for teaching roles overseas but also for caregiving and manufacturing jobs.
Fijian Teachers Association General Secretary Paula Manumanunitoga highlights this and claims that the current pay structure within the civil service, especially for teachers, is compelling them to accept employment offers from Australia and New Zealand.
According to Manumanunitoga, while a new teacher graduate might earn approximately $26,000 annually, overseas countries are offering starting salaries of $70,000.
“And I feel for our country that now it is suffering, suffering in terms of losing our very valuable teachers who deserve to or probably who should be here and working to lift up the standards and produce quality education as we all require in our country.
Manumanunitoga points out that both skilled and unskilled workers who are departing Fiji are finding better financial opportunities abroad and are able to send money back home to improve their families living standards.
“I believe that we just cannot hold them back unless we do something to lift up the standard of pay that we give our workers and how much we give our workers, especially our teachers.”
Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary of the Public Service Commission Parmesh Chand states that the Education Ministry should handle this matter.
“But so far we see that the Ministry of Education is handling those matters well and it’s within their ministry.”
However, if necessary, the Public Service Commission is willing to provide assistance.
The FTA emphasizes the need for collaborative efforts to strategize ways to enhance the economy.
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