Minister Questions Recruitment System’s Validity

Senior officers who have served in leadership positions for several years in the Ministry of Education were being replaced by those with much less or no experience in leadership positions.

Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro, said this was the concern raised by many in the ministry regarding the open merit recruiting system.

Mr Radrodro said there were inconsistencies in processing of leadership positions in schools and senior officers were denied promotions because of the open merit recruiting system.

He said the lack of consultations brought unfair and non-transparent processes.

“This has really questioned the validity of the open merit recruit system guideline that is currently being used for appointment,” Mr Radrodro said.

“I will be having discussions with relevant stakeholders on how to effectively and fairly address issues as such. We are going to review the matrix used for the open merit recruit system, especially the selection criteria for heads of schools and post holders.

“There needs to be more weighting and emphasis on experience as the positions require proven performance in leadership positions and expertise to lead schools and students successfully.

“Qualification is great, but practical experiences give you a better understanding of the school environment,” he said.

Education Summit

The Education Ministry is working on a submission to Cabinet to hold an education summit in the first quarter of this year. Mr Radrodro said this would involve relevant stakeholders.

He said the summit was to map out strategies which would address issues and trends for the future of education in Fiji in the next four years.

“It is understood that teachers’ roles evolve. They are facilitators whose role is greater than just delivery of lessons,” he said.

“They need to become transformational teachers who help students become critical thinkers. We are well aware of the teaching environment that prevails today and the extent of challenges faced by teachers.”

He said the ministry would continue to support teachers.