Changes in School Terms from 4 to 3 ‘Regressive’, says Kumar
Former Minister for Education and Opposition Member Premila Kumar has labelled the change in the four school term structure to 3 school terms made by the Minister for Education as regressive.
The Opposition MP said the Minister has failed to understand the rationale behind this change and the benefits it would bring to the education and the private sector.
Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro, had announced the change in school terms from four to three. Further, the 2023 school calendar on February 6 as opposed to the initial January 31 plan. Teachers and administration start a day earlier.
She said the Fijian Education system has had three terms in a school year with 14 weeks per term.
After each term, students and teachers were given two weeks break except Term 3 where they had a 7 weeks break which normally began in late November.
“However, in 2021 and 2022, due to unforeseen situations caused by the Pandemic, we had 4 terms,” she said.
“Term 3 of the 2021 academic year was brought forward to 2022. And after a short break of one week, school resumed with the 2022 Academic Year in the month of April.”
Rationale
She said the rationale to introduce four school terms was to bring about overall efficiency in the education system by aligning
this with the international best practice. Ms Kumar added that the Ministry of Education considered the option of a four term academic year for 2023 and the proposal was well received by stakeholders such as the Fiji Head Teachers Association, the Fiji Principals Association, Parents Teachers Association, Fiji Retailers Association, parents, teachers, Heads of Schools, faith-based organisations and Fijian Teachers’ Association.
“Consultations were held by the Divisional and District Education officers around the country.
“Written views were also sought from stakeholders through social media platforms who could not attend in -person consultation. Of course, the Fiji Teachers Union did not bother to give their views in writing on the proposal to change the school terms.”
Benefits
She added that the benefits for having a four term academic year for schools were:
■ It would allow teachers to have breaks following shorter school terms, given that teachers work hard during the term and manage students which can be challenging and physically and emotionally draining. Shorter terms and four term holidays will allow teachers to rest and recharge, reducing burnout or stress.
■ Having 10 weeks per term with the 4 term model is better than having 14 weeks under the 3 term model as it allows students to have breaks, refresh and prepare for another 10 weeks.
■ We all know that our country faces the threat of Tropical Cyclones from November to April, and it peaks between January to March. In the past, schooling had been greatly affected by frequent flooding and devastations caused by cyclones from late December to January. Some schools were used as evacuation centres during this time which further delayed the re-opening of schools. This causes a lot of disruption to schools with school closure soon after the start of the term. The late opening of schools will reduce the possibility of dealing with disruptions to schools and therefore, finishing the year in mid-December and starting the year late in January will not only fit in our circumstances but it will also be smart and efficacious.
■ The term holidays have been aligned to Australia and New Zealand school terms, which will allow better planning of family holidays. It should be noted that Fijians have their families, friends and relatives in these countries.
■ The new model will further allow spread of sporting activities over three terms so that Term 4 can be devoted to exams.
■ Businesses will also benefit as this will allow them to conclude the business for the festive season before the start of ‘Back to School’ preparations, giving parents ample time to plan for their children’s schooling needs after the festive season.
Ms Kumar added that this regression was detrimental to teachers, parents, students, youth and the overall learning environment.