Teachers are still waiting for action on a long-promised protection policy despite rising concerns about abuse by students and parents.

The Fijian Teachers’ Association says reports of verbal and physical abuse continue to come in, with some teachers even refusing to return to work.

General Secretary Paula Manumanunitoga says the issue has existed under both the previous and current governments, but despite early talks with the ministry, a formal policy still hasn’t been announced.

FTA General Secretary Paula Manumanunitoga. 

Manumanunitoga is now calling for urgent action, saying the safety of teachers must be treated as seriously as students’ rights.

“There have been a lot of complaints coming from teachers, and even just yesterday, I heard that a teacher at a school informed me that a teacher has refused to return to work because of issues such as that.”

The Education Ministry started the discussion phase for drafting the first-ever teacher protection policy last year.

Manumanunitoga claims that teachers are feeling unsafe and unsupported.

“We strongly support the idea because we’ve been what we even sent them a draft, our draft of a teacher protection policy to the Ministry of Education, and then I think it seemed to be left aside, paid no attention to.”

He agrees that protecting children is important, but stresses that teachers also need a safe working environment.

He adds that teachers are advised to follow official reporting procedures through their school heads or district education offices. At the same time, serious cases should be reported to the Ministry’s complaints section or directly to the police.

Meanwhile, this morning, Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro says he will be better positioned to comment on the proposed policy once he gets a progress report from the Deputy Secretary for Policy and Strategy.

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