The Ministry of Education stands to refute the General Secretary for the Fiji Teachers’ Union Mr Agni Deo’s statement to Radio New Zealand.
According to the interview, Mr Deo questions the Fiji government where it gets funds from to help parents get their children to school. Mr Deo is insinuating that these have been taken from alleged savings as a result of teacher retirement.
Another innuendo concocted is that some schools have been denied funds which were used to fund initiatives.
The Ministry wishes to clarify that the only funds that were withdrawn from teachers in the beginning of the year were the Executive Teachers allowances. This has been reinstated so teachers are getting back that allowance. Furthermore teachers are enjoying, rural allowance, incentive allowance, acting allowance apart from their usual pays.
There was no savings made from the retirement of teachers as positions have been appropriately filled.
As for the funds paid to schools in grants, the new Resourcing Index formula which the Ministry of Education is now using has allowed remote/ rural schools to get more grants (tuition) compared to previous years.
The Ministry wishes to remind Mr Agni Deo to stop using the retirement tune to spite the government since he was a prime mover for the implementation of the 55 years retirement by this government. Furthermore it is this same government that is allowing deductions from its teachers who are members of the FTU to pay him. This is something the government can easily reconsider.
Filipe Bole
Minister for Education, National Heritage, Culture and Arts, Youth and Sports, Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment.