5725 Teachers Trained in LANS Rollout

‘Quality education is every child’s right and I commend the Fijian Government for the emphasis they have placed on this since coming into office.’

Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts Rosy Akbar confirmed on Wednesday that 5725 lower primary teachers have been trained so far for the Literacy And Numeracy Scheme (LANS) rollout since 2017. Ms Akbar was a guest at the handing over of 110 Australian government-funded sets of literacy and numeracy kits at the Fiji National University’s Lautoka campus that have been distributed to 91 selected schools and five teacher training institutions nationwide.

She said the ministry was working with five training institutions, inclusive of the FNU, to incorporate a nine-day literacy and numeracy training in their programmes. “This handing over ceremony of the literacy and numeracy kits ensures that you, the new graduates, will emerge equipped with the new strategy and latest teaching pedagogies to engage children in the wonders of learning,” she said. The Australian High Commissioner

to Fiji, John Feakes, said education was a key component in the Australian government’s aid programme.

“Quality education is every child’s right and I commend the Fijian Government for the emphasis they have placed on this since coming into office,” he said. “Through our education support programme and working in close collaboration with the Fijian Ministry of Education, Australia has been able to assist with the provision of literacy and numeracy resources to more than 90 schools and a number of training institutions in Fiji.”

FNU student Dionne Stephanie, who is pursuing a Bachelor in Secondary Education majoring in Home Economics, said the literacy kits would assist teachers improve literacy and numeracy rates in schools.