The salary of a counsellor in community-based schools is mostly paid by the school, says Ministry of Education Policy and Research Unit manager Metuisela Gauna.
While explaining how counsellors were hired to provide counselling services in the different schools, including government-run institutions, Mr Gauna said it was the community-based schools that were paying the most for counsellors.
“Faith-based schools that assist in counselling, like the talatala, they are paid by their religious organisations as a solution to the disciplinary cases that are arising nowadays like drugs,” Mr Gauna said.
“The remuneration of the talatala and the priest that are in the schools in government schools, Government is paying 100 per cent (of their salaries).
“Unfortunately, for many of the committee-run schools, I know there is a change in the policy as we speak whereby that policy mandates I think 90 per cent of that salary to be paid by the school and the other 10 percent to be paid by their FEG (Free Education Grant).
“Now that poses a big challenge especially for the very remote schools who have very little FEG allocated to them in any particular year.”
He said the question raised from the floor was how this issue could be addressed in the reviewed Act.
“To make sure there is a fair way of ensuring that they are fully paid by the ministry.”
Mr Gauna reiterated a call made by Namataku District School head teacher Tomasi Toganaivalu who raised concerns about the need for religious counsellors in schools given that there were new challenges that teachers were dealing with in schools such as drug abuse.
The remarks were made during the Navosa consultations on the Education Act 1966 Review.
