Education Ministry Permanent Secretary, Dr Anjeela Jokhan and General Secretary, Agni Deo Singh. [File Photo]

The Fiji Teachers Union says the Education Ministry Permanent Secretary, Dr Anjeela Jokhan, should meet with the teacher unions and work in partnership for a way forward in addressing the short and long-term goals of the Ministry.

General Secretary, Agni Deo Singh, says the Union will leave no stone unturned to defend its members who are fully qualified and have served with distinction.

Singh says the Permanent Secretary recently stated that teachers who have certificates and diploma qualifications are unqualified and will be replaced.

The General Secretary says Jokhan is referring to the Ministry’s 2018 Remuneration Guideline which was never discussed or shared with teacher unions as the legitimate representatives of the teachers.

He says the Job Evaluation Exercise 2017 classified unqualified teachers in Band D and they are graduates without teacher training and their contracts are renewed annually.

He adds that the primary school teachers who have certificates in Teaching, as well as those with Diploma in Education teaching in primary and secondary schools, were placed in band B and E as fully qualified teachers and on five-year contracts.

Singh claims Jokhan approved the promotion and contract to some 600 primary heads of schools in January this year and around 400 are certificate holders with more than 15 years of experience.

Meanwhile, Jokhan had yesterday said that teachers with Diploma and Certificate level qualifications have been advised to upgrade their qualifications.

This is if they wish to receive a higher salary as per the Teacher Remuneration Setting Policy either to progress to higher positions or to compete in a teaching field where there are more graduates fully qualified to teach in a certain discipline.

Jokhan stated that the Ministry as an employer is looking at all teacher grievances including salary anomalies based on established procedures and requested teachers to liaise with the Ministry.

She had said that the Ministry will investigate all grievances and act accordingly.