The Fiji Court of Appeal has reinstated a legal challenge by a former head teacher against the Ministry for Education, Heritage and Arts, ruling that his case should be heard by the Employment Relations Court.
In a judgment delivered on February 27, Justices Alipate Qetaki, Walton Morgan and Pamela Andrews allowed an appeal by teacher Dhirendra Prasad, setting aside an earlier decision that had struck out his case.
Prasad joined the Public Service as a teacher in 1990 and was later appointed Head Teacher at Gandhi Bhawan Primary School in 2015 on a three-year contract. In 2016 he was suspended without pay while the ministry investigated allegations relating to financial management of school funds, handling of donations and other misconduct, which he denied.
He was later demoted and transferred before being reinstated after a review found the penalty imposed by the Permanent Secretary was outside the official’s authority.
In 2018, following further investigations, the ministry decided not to renew Prasad’s contract. He challenged the decision in the Employment Relations Court, arguing the non-renewal was unlawful, unfair and breached principles of natural justice.
However, the Employment Relations Court struck out his application in January 2024, ruling it lacked jurisdiction to hear the claim.
The Court of Appeal found that the lower court had erred and that Prasad’s claim was sufficiently connected to his employment contract to fall within the court’s jurisdiction.
The appellate court also ruled that the lower court failed to provide adequate reasons for its decision.
The case will now return to the Employment Relations Court to be heard before a different judge.
