Shania Shayal Prasad 
The Fiji Teachers Registration Authority is addressing a rise in teachers with “limited authority”, an issue caused by qualification gaps and a reluctance to work in rural and maritime areas.
This problem was noted during a Standing Committee on Social Affairs meeting while reviewing the FTRA’s annual reports.
FTRA Chief Executive Sangeeta Singh says they are working with the Education Ministry to solve the issue, which is made more difficult by poor connectivity and limited access to educational facilities in remote regions.
Singh says under FTRA regulations, teachers who hold limited authority face a different pay scale compared to fully registered teachers, a measure designed to enforce compliance and encourage professional development.
“For example, Math’s, Physics, Primary, PEMAC, so the Computer Science, these are the areas we don’t have enough in the pool, and the Ministry generally needs them in the system. So, these are underqualified teachers. That’s category one.”
Singh says they are exploring solutions such as transferring teachers to locations where they can access required courses.
“So, we give them limited authority to teach with a notice. So, they are given initially two years to upgrade their qualification, and as per the Act, there is another extension that can be granted. So, a maximum four-year period is given to these limited authority to teach categorized teachers to upgrade themselves and move to provisional and eventually to full.”
Singh says they continue to monitor these teachers closely, providing induction programs, mentorship, and regular reporting to ensure that limited authority teachers meet the minimum qualifications required to transition to full registration.
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