A lot of ideas from conference that delegates can work on

Adeclaration that will come out of the Commonwealth Ministers Conference at the Fiji Sheraton Resort in Denarau, Nadi, is expected to produce a document that sets an outline that will help improve service delivery and achieve education goals.

The challenge going into the next four years is to make our schools and our curriculum relevant to the needs of a 21st century world. The theme of the Denarau conference, “Sustainability and Resilience” has set the platform for the declaration. In the last conference held in the Bahamas in June 2015, the Education Ministers Action Group (EMAG) was formed with the purpose of guiding delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for education and providing strategic direction and advice in following up on points agreed at the 19th CCEM and presented as the Nassau Declaration. When that meeting took place the newly-elected FijiFirst Government was eight months into the implementation of its free education initiative.

Almost four years after that historic move, that initiative has now become a way of life for ordinary Fijians.

The question now is: Can that be extended to tertiary level students? One political party has said yes and the policy will likely to be in its election manifesto to be unveiled soon.

It claims that the current Tertiary Education and Loans Board (TELS) scheme puts students into a life of debt and reduces their ability to buy their own homes when they work and have a family. The scholarship scheme under Toppers should be extended to cover all students, the party says.

But a Malaysian professor attending the Denarau meeting, Professor Russayani Ismail, believes there should no free education at tertiary level because whoever attends these institutions should at least pay something. She said free education at tertiary level would benefit the rich more than the poor. She found that TELS benefitted the poor because they were only charged 1.5 per cent interest for low income earners and zero per cent for the poor families.

The other part of the equation that has not been discussed is the cost to the nation. Can we afford a tuition-free tertiary education? Realistically, we cannot afford it now, may be later on when we expand our economic base.

It is not cheap to implement this policy and there would obviously be cuts in other areas if we are going to accommodate it.

One of the issues that was highlighted in the conference was the importance of teachers and the recognition of their noble profession.

Public expectation of teachers’ performance can be unrealistic at times, the same with doctors and nurses.

Unless they are well trained and experienced, we cannot expect them to perform miracles. That is why the Government reforms that are currently being undertaken are welcome because they will ensure that our teachers, doctors and nurses receive the professional development they need to perform well and to our expectation.

We can have the best equipment and infrastructure but if we do not have the qualified people to use it, then we will fall short of the desired outcomes.

Teachers require, just like doctors and nurses, constant professional development courses, to improve their knowledge and skills. Otherwise, they will be left behind and our students suffer as a consequence.

Scientists and education experts are telling us that our approach to education must change to keep abreast with technological advancement because of the internet.

No doubt a lot of ideas were generated in this conference that would provide delegates with something to work on.

For Fiji, they reinforce that we are definitely on the right track. The challenge is to maintain it.