En mass resignations by early education, primary and secondary school teachers are a great concern for the nation.
This creates a vacuum in schools which cannot be satisfactorily filled in simply because the Ministry of Education is just not prepared for it.
They are caught with their pants down and are grappling in the empty space.
This is the direct result of years of teacher neglect, making hasty and ill informed decisions like the removal of the STTC programme, etc.
I respectfully suggest that the Ministry of Education go on war footing and institute crash programmes to prepare teachers for primary schools.
Selection can be made from all those who have passed Year 13 examination.
They can be given a six month crash programme in teaching.
FNU (Fiji National University) can be asked to design a programme for this course.
Once trained, these young teachers can be placed under the care of the heads of the primary schools.
As time goes on, the maturity will set in and these people will make excellent teachers.
However, they must be paid well or the migration and resignation factors will continue non-stop.
Those primary school teachers who have completed their degrees must get a fair pay as per their qualifications.
At the moment this is not happening and primary school teachers are depressed and frustrated.
This is the direct legacy of the previous administration’s ill-informed policies.
The nation cannot simply sit and watch the future of our children being jeopardised.
We have to close the floodgates of resignations and migrations.
Pay the teachers well and treat them well.
They too are human beings and have their fundamental rights.
I appeal to the Prime Minister to seriously look into this matter and get the Ministry of Education to act post haste.
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