Litia Cava 
The Fiji Teachers Association has received information from the Education Ministry indicating a concerning shortage of 300 primary school teaching positions.
General Secretary Paula Manumanunitoga has raised alarm about the detrimental impact this shortage is having on students’ education.
Manumanunitoga has put forward a proposal aimed at tackling this issue.
“I think the Minister of Education needs to need to come up with a strategy on how best they could work together with us, with all the stakeholders in sort of soothing the effects of teachers who had migrated overseas.”
He urges the government to take steps to train more teachers and expand training institutions in order to counteract this worrying trend.
Addressing this matter, Manumanunitoga acknowledges the difficulty of the task at hand, considering the departure of skilled and experienced teachers.
“We really have to sit and discuss ways of solving this issue.”
Education Minister Aseri Radrodro echoes the sentiment, emphasizing that teacher shortages are a global concern, not unique to Fiji.
“Most of them have migrated because they have better opportunities, they have gone for greener pastures and we hope whatever we are doing right now will entice them but migration is up to the individuals.”
To address this issue, the Education Ministry is gearing up for an upcoming Summit next month.
The Summit aims to bring together stakeholders to collaboratively formulate strategies to effectively combat the shortage of teachers.
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