Permanent Secretary, Doctor Anjeela Jokhan.

The Ministry of Education is standing by its Minister’s comment that some teachers have poor literacy competency.

Permanent Secretary, Doctor Anjeela Jokhan says no parents would want an incompetent teacher educating their child.

Dr Jokhan adds she does not see any issue in highlighting the weaknesses that exist within the profession.

“While the purpose of the test was to determine whether applicants should be offered a teaching contract. It was also meant to better inform professional development literacy requirements for teachers. The rate of failure suggests that there are problems with teachers’ literacy competency. What is wrong with pointing that out?”

Dr Jokhan refuted claims by the Fiji Teachers Confederation that some teachers who had upgraded their qualifications have not had a salary upgrade.

She says the FTC should provide the names of these teachers.

“Regarding teachers’ salaries, the Fijian government has increased the salaries of teachers and post-holders twice in the last seven years. In 2014, teachers had a salary rise averaging 20 percent and 10 percent for leadership post-holders.”

The PS also says Minister, Premila Kumar’s statements were taken out of context by some media and the confederation.