THE Ministry of Education will redeploy surplus teachers to schools with genuine staffing shortages before considering further recruitment, says Education Minister Aseri Radrodro.
Speaking at the 43rd Fiji Head Teachers Association’s annual conference in Nadi yesterday, Mr Radrodro acknowledged association president Johnson Rura for raising concerns about teacher shortages.
He said the ministry was reviewing teachers already employed across the country, including their qualifications, locations and the staffing needs of schools.
“Teachers may be required to undertake ministerial transfers where there is a staffing need,” Mr Radrodro said.
He said the redeployment exercise would ensure existing teachers were used effectively before the ministry considered recruiting additional teachers.
Mr Radrodro also stressed the importance of accurate ER5 staffing information in making decisions about teacher deployment and recruitment.
He said the ministry had identified cases where ER5 information did not accurately reflect the number of teachers available in schools or divisions.
“You know who you are, and you need to improve on the quality and the accuracy of data that you fill in your ER5.”
Mr Radrodro said the ministry was also checking ER5 information against records in the Fiji Education Management Information System (FEMIS) to verify staffing data.
He said the verification process was intended to ensure schools provided accurate information to support staffing and recruitment decisions.
