SOME teachers have recorded more than 100 days of absence, prompting the Ministry of Education to strengthen its monitoring of teacher attendance.
Education Minister Aseri Radrodro said the cases were identified through the recent Fiji Education Staffing Appointment (FESA) system-cleaning exercise.
Speaking at the 43rd Fiji Head Teachers Association’s annual conference in Nadi yesterday, Mr Radrodro said each case would be assessed through the appropriate process, taking into account approved leave and other legitimate circumstances.
He said prolonged teacher absences could disrupt school operations and affect student learning, while accurate attendance records could also help determine whether reported staffing shortages were genuine.
The minister urged schools to maintain proper attendance records and refer relevant cases to the ministry’s human resources department.
He said the ministry was also addressing issues involving teacher appointments, transfers, vacancies, payroll and acting allowances.
Some teachers, he said, had started work while waiting for salaries or acting allowances to be processed, while delays in receiving teachers’ bank details had also affected payments. The ministry is working with the ministries of Civil Service and Finance to resolve the issues.
Mr Radrodro said vacancies and restrictions on appointments needed to be carefully assessed, particularly where teachers could be redeployed to meet staffing needs elsewhere.
He urged stakeholders to ensure all vacant positions were advertised and filled before the end of the year.
