FIJI’S education system, once the standard bearer of Pacific learning, is struggling to reinvent itself after years of social discontent brought on by misguided political ideology.
The problems occurred from the earliest years of education, building up from primary to secondary through to tertiary institutions, which then churned out graduates often criticised for their inability to meet employer demands.
Now, the Coalition Government has brought the ailing sector to the forefront as it seeks opinions from the industry’s most seasoned experts on the way forward.
The goal now is to determine where Fiji has gone wrong, where the focus needs to be and what steps can be taken to fix it as grapples with drug abuse, plummeting national pass grades, burn out, underpaid teachers, labour migration and changing industry demands.
No repeat policy
Automatic progression in Fiji’s schools has been a longstanding source of controversy. This week, a consultation was organised at Suva Grammar School in Suva to determine whether the policy should be overturned.
Education deputy secretary primary/secondary Timoci Bure said the policy was a decision made by the then military government, one that Fiji education has been suffering the consequences of.
“In 2009, you will remember the military government then and the Ministry of Education was under the Ministry of Heritage, Arts and Culture, Youth and Sports, Industrial Relations and Employment, Housing and Environment,” Mr Bure said.
“We were put as a department under one minister, and they made a critical decision, which was to abolish Year 6, Year 8 and Year 10.”
Mr Bure said there were reasons given for the decision, one of which was that when exams were taken too early, it placed over-emphasis on the exams and teachers tended to teach to the test.
He said another reason was that external exams constrained the curriculum and other aspects of education, such as critical thinking and communication, tended to be sidelined.
In addition, the then administration informed the sector that examinations carried out too early could typecast students, especially in small communities, leading to low self-esteem.
“My elder brother, he could not complete. He left Year 5 because I, the younger brother, was coming up and the teacher told him to repeat, so he couldn’t take it if I was in the same classroom as he.”
Education Minister Aseri Radrodro told the participants the no-repeat policy had created a culture of complacency among teachers, students and parents.
Under that system, students did not feel the need to put in the required effort to achieve academic excellence as a promotion to the next grade was guaranteed, regardless of their academic performance.
“The fluctuating average pass rates over the years may be attributed to automatic progression, and teachers faced the challenges of addressing significant learning gaps in students who were automatically promoted, despite lacking the necessary skills,” Mr Radrodro said.
The case of non-readers
Part of the problem generated by automatic progression is that of non-readers, simply defined as someone who is unable or unwilling to read.
It is common knowledge now that some students progressed from primary to secondary schools without knowing how to read.
Fijian Teachers Association general secretary Paula Manumanuitoga said the primary focus of schools was to learn how to read and write.
“What’s happening to us now? Why are there literacy issues in secondary schools?” he said.
“I can tell you that we were sent to school to be able to read and write.”
A Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) survey carried out across Years 4 and 6 by the Pacific Community (SPC) in 2021, showed that Fiji students had mixed performances across PILNA subjects, compared to a similar survey in 2018.
The report detailed that many Year 4 students were not meeting the minimum expected proficiency standards in numeracy and reading and that only 66 per cent of students were at or above minimum expected proficiency levels in numeracy.
The report said 79 per cent of students were at or above the minimum expected proficiency levels in numeracy and 71 per cent were at or above minimum expected proficiency levels in reading for Year 6.
Dropouts concerning
Poor performance combined with a lack of interest in formal education has also gripped the education sector.
Between 2019 and 2023, about 4589 students dropped out of the formal education system before completing primary education, and 5726 left before completing Year 10, according to the Education Ministry.
Statistics shared by Mr Bure at the consultation also showed the highest number of dropouts were from Suva and the Lautoka/Nadi/Yasawa region.
Mr Bure said in places like Taveuni, Koro and Kadavu, there were high dropouts among those youth who were lured into entrepreneurship – especially for lucrative commodities like kava – before completing their formal education.
“In provinces like Naitasiri, Namosi, Kadavu, during market day on Saturday, senior boys, boys from Year 10, 11, 12, harvest (products) and bring them to the market,” he said.
Mr Bure said by joining their parents, these students had a whiff of entrepreneurship which propelled them to join commercial farming.
Meanwhile, the Education Minister said under the current practice in Fiji of automatic progression, there were numerous challenges.
He said students who had not mastered the foundational knowledge and skills of their current grade were promoted to the next grade.
“This results in learning gaps, which accumulate over time, and thus low examination performance of students, students who are not adequately prepared for these exams, they tend to struggle to perform, which impact the national standards,” Mr Radrodro said.
“Since 2018, the Year 8 external examination results have plummeted below 70 per cent. Similarly, Year 12 results for the past five years also recorded less than an 80 per cent pass rate.”
Mr Radrodro said the review of automatic progression of compulsory progression from ECE, primary to Year 12 would allow schools to be empowered to formulate necessary standards and procedures for students’ promotion and progression.
“The Ministry of Education’s objective of repealing automatic progression from the education system is to ensure that students achieve the learning outcomes and competencies of a particular level before advancing to the next academic level.
“This consultation marks the beginning of an inclusive and participatory process. We are here to listen. We are here to share ideas and to collaborate.
“We value the insights and contributions of all you stakeholders, educators, students, parents, teachers and community members. This is an opportunity to raise your ideas on critical matters such as this automatic progression; your voices are critical.”
Focus on ECE
To get to the root cause of the problem, there were suggestions for the ministry to look at progression from as early as kindergarten.
Educationists at the consultation expressed how crucial it was for students to learn how to read and write from Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres, progressing to years 1 and 2.
FTA’s Mr Manumanuitoga expressed that in his teaching days, students were expected to become fluent readers by the time they reached the second term of Year 1.
“The child in Year 1 has to satisfy all the learning outcomes that’s there, that they should achieve,” he said.
“If not, the FTA is strongly recommending that if we don’t bring it as compulsory to have people repeat in classes, then we need to have the agreement of the parent and the child with explanations where we tell them this is for the benefit of your child.”
In addition, there have been calls to upskill teacher training programs under which teachers could carry out their duties to the best of their abilities.
Following the consultation, Mr Radrodro acknowledged the various issues that were brought into the spotlight.
“The issue being raised regarding the literacy, numeracy of a student, I understand that what you have shared today will be able to improve a student’s basic education needs,” he said.
“It raises the questions of why and what is the purpose of education.
“If we understand the basic criteria for education, then we can all understand the important roles as grandmothers, as stakeholders, teachers and management, that we all have to play in making sure that the child comes through the education door.”
Mr Radrodro said a child must start his or her education journey from ECE to primary, to secondary, up to higher education institutes.
“You will be satisfied that you have provided the basic education for the child, and this is one way that we need to review our policy.”
With consultations on the policy now over, Mr Bure said the information would be collected and that should there be a decision to go ahead with the repeal, a paper would be drafted and submitted for Cabinet approval.
