Kamna Kumar 
The Fiji Teachers Union has warned of a growing shortage of teachers in both primary and secondary schools.
General Secretary Muniappa Goundar is urging the Ministry of Education to take urgent action to support injured teachers and improve working conditions.
Goundar told the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs that rehabilitation and flexible work arrangements must be in place for teachers recovering from injuries.
FTU General Secretary Muniappa Goundar.
He stresses that injured teachers should be relocated to roles that ease their workload and support their recovery instead of losing their jobs.
“We cannot lose teachers at this stage. I’ve got specific numbers, the shortage of teachers in primary is currently around you know, five to six hundred. That’s a big number.”
He also highlighted that many secondary graduates teaching in primary schools are placed on Band D, which means they are paid lower salaries because they are classified as unqualified.
Goundar has also called for fair salary payments to be made to these graduates, who are filling critical gaps in the education system.
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