Fiji is facing a serious education crisis, with 28 per cent of upper secondary-aged youth currently out of school.

Education Minister Aseri Radrodro revealed this during a high-level stakeholder engagement with the Tertiary Education Loan Service on “No Learner Left Behind” Initiative aimed at tackling one of the country’s pressing social challenges.

Radrodro says the statistics translate to around 13,000 students, with a 39 per cent dropout rate between Year 8 and Year 12, and 23.7 per cent of youth aged 15 to 24 not engaged in education, employment, or training.He says disconnection from learning increases the risk of social harm.

“When young people disconnect from learning, we don’t just lose a student. We also increase the risk of wider social harm, unemployment, crime, substance abuse, poor mental health and intergenerational hardship. For the first time, we are not only describing the problems, we are also building solutions. 

Radrodro says they are building on existing programmes like the Matua Programme, which has offered second-chance education for over two decades.

“The programme has strengthened families, revealed confidence, fostered social inclusion and improved overall community well-being.  The Matua Programme has also delivered measurable academic success. Recent results show a strong improvement, with the year-to-date pass rate rising from 88% in 2024 to 96% in 2025. 

Tertiary Education Loan Service Chair , Ro Teimumu Kepa is hopeful that the Ministry of Education will expand the Matua Programme to other schools in the country.

“We are hoping that the Ministry of Education will identify other schools in the urban, rural, maritime, remote areas (1:49) where the dropouts can also be captured. (1:53) They can be brought back in and be provided a pathway so that they can go on and be educated by other families. }

The initiative will work with TVET partners, provincial administrators, community and faith-based organisations, and employers to create a national pathway system that prevents dropouts, re-engages out-of-school youth, and transitions them into further learning, entrepreneurship, and employment.PP FBC News

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