Extending early childhood education hours for kindergarten students from 8am to 3pm still needs to be discussed before it is implemented, says Fiji Teachers Union general secretary Muniappa Goundar.
“We are not fully against the idea, but it has to be given some time, and we need to get the views of the major stakeholders, and in this case, that is the parent,” said Mr Goundar.
“Keeping a child of that age for the whole duration of a primary school day will exhaust the children.
“What we need to do is give them time to settle in, and the ministry has to look at the curriculum.”
He said another concern they had with the decision was how the young children would handle the added classroom hours.
“We’ve seen images of children sleeping on the floor in ECEs and that brings up another concern, if these are the proper conditions to have for these kindy students.
“Will there be harmful effects of this?
“The union is available for further talks so that we are able to roll out something that is going to be a win-win for everybody.
“We’ve taken these concerns to the Ministry of Education and to the Finance Ministry.
“We can let the students at the right time and the ECE teachers who have been given longer hours can stay on and assist the other teachers in the lower classes, or allow the heads of schools to utilise them until the afternoon.
“We had negotiated for the ECE teachers to have their hours extended, but nowhere in our discussion did we ask for the students to be kept in the classroom as well.
“We don’t know where that came from, but we are willing to discuss that further.”
In Parliament yesterday, Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro said the extended hours for pre-primary education students allowed for more time in structured play and learning.
“This gives children the space to explore, ask questions, and engage with their peers, critical aspects of their overall development,” said Mr Radrodro.
“Moreover, this full-day program supports families as the children are in school learning, and parents and guardians will be able to have a set pick-up time for all the children, including those attending primary school.”
