The Education Ministry has demonstrated poor leadership in both the ministerial and the permanent secretary level, says Council of Pacific Education secretary-general Govind Singh.
He said this while speaking at the 92nd Fiji Teachers Union annual conference yesterday.
Mr Singh said despite getting a big chunk of the national budget every year, there were so many issues within the ministry.
He said since 2014, the ministry has had five ministers, adding that the ministry should not be viewed as a “rugby ball that the Government can continue to pass it around time and again, to see who might score a try”.
He said the Education Ministry was the most important ministry with the largest budget.
“In thanking you for the funds, we have been deprived of continuity and sustainability of plans, policies and programs.
“In the process of pushing around MEHA from one minister to another and from permanent secretary to several others, we have been starved of professional forums that existed in the past.”
Mr Singh also asked why teachers were being “used as guinea pigs” and suggested that the change of ministers had continuously brought changes to the assessment system.
“We dropped ‘annual confidential report’ in favour of ‘performance management system’ (PMS), we dropped PMS in favour of ‘annual appraisal system’ as if this was not enough, we dropped this and brought in MyAPA.
“During this process of systematic inconsistencies, the promises of increments and promotions never eventuated the way they should have. A teacher who is confused, subdued with ever changing rule about his professional career path may have difficulties in dealing with the challenges and demonstrating resilience.”
