Kumar calls for Radrodro’s replacement over teachers’ pay issues

Opposition MP Premila Kumar has called on Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to consider replacing Education Minister Aseri Radrodro if ongoing salary and allowance issues affecting teachers cannot be resolved.

Kumar says teachers should not have to repeatedly pursue the Government for money they have already earned, nor should they suffer because of administrative shortcomings within the Ministry of Education.

She says payments to some teachers were made only up to Pay 18 before being stopped after a Ministry audit reportedly found that some signed contracts had not been returned.

Kumar has questioned how such administrative issues were allowed to reach this stage, pointing out that Heads of Schools and Divisional Heads are in place across all four divisions to oversee processes and identify problems.

She has also raised concerns about teachers who graduated in 2024 and applied for salary upgrades after submitting their degrees and university letters confirming completion of their studies.

According to Kumar, some of these teachers are still waiting to receive the payments owed to them.

She says Radrodro had previously confirmed that 273 teachers were due to be paid, subject to the availability of funds.

Kumar also highlighted the situation of teachers taking additional classes because of staff shortages, as well as those serving in acting positions who are allegedly still awaiting allowances and other entitlements.

She says these concerns are not new, noting that salary and allowance issues involving Ministry of Education staff have been raised previously.

Last month, Radrodro announced that salary arrears involving 318 Ministry staff were being expedited through Pay 17 and Pay 18, with delays attributed to internal processing and compliance requirements.

Kumar also pointed to concerns publicly raised by the Fijian Teachers Association over delays in salary and allowance payments.

While acknowledging that teachers are required to follow the Civil Service Code of Conduct and proper administrative procedures, Kumar says there must also be accountability when those systems fail to resolve legitimate grievances.

She says some teachers are understood to have written directly to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking assistance after failing to have their concerns addressed.

Kumar has also questioned the role of Employment Minister Agni Deo Singh, arguing that the rights of teachers as government employees should receive the same attention as those of other workers.

She says teachers should not be blamed for failing to submit documents, sign contracts or follow procedures if they have already provided the required information and delays have occurred within the Ministry.

Kumar maintains that if all necessary documentation has been submitted but remains unprocessed, teachers should not bear the consequences of administrative delays.