Civil Service Reforms: Teachers' Contract

Dewan Chand, Suva

I write to warmly congratulate Aiyaz SayedKhaiyum, Minister responsible for civil service, for his foresight, proactive vision, meticulous planning and efficient execution of the Roadshow for civil servants, starting with the teachers.

This was a master stroke which caught the teacher unions flat footed and with their pants down!

They have no idea what struck them. As far as I am concerned it was the responsibility of the two teacher unions to have launched the “Road Show” to inform all their members at branch levels and to have given them a specific direction.

The unions were not prepared for any such actions and the membership had no idea what direction to follow.

The teachers had no idea about signing or not signing the five year contract. There were rumblings of a court case against the contract. And that's just about all many knew. The first “Road Show” at Jai Narayan College was a super success story with teachers. Their niggling questions were answered and the phenomenal salary rises were put before them.

They had never heard of such huge rises in their salaries. They simply could not believe it and when the hard facts sank in their minds there was no stopping them from signing the contract even if the teacher unions want it now. They have clearly lost the battle even before it started.

The euphoria amongst teachers is simply too great and unstoppable!

My friend Govind Singh, Secretary General of COPE, rang one of the senior teacher unionists to find out what was happening and what direction the unions will take. Because the mobile volume was high I could hear what was being said at the other end. I was simply baffled with the ignorance of this senior official.

He clearly had not done his homework. What kind of advice can the rank and file of teachers expect? As a former unionist myself I expect the union leaders to be fully abreast with the latest development in teacher administration for the 21st Century.

We all want well paid and efficient teachers in our classrooms.

The concept to reward effective classroom teachers with higher salaries is simply too good to be true

In my view, merit and performance must decide ones worth. This motivates people to work hard and upgrade their qualifications.

I wish the teachers every success in their professional careers.