Fiji Permanent Secretary Iowane Tiko and Deputy Secretary Kelera Taliga have met with officials at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London on November 26, 2017, to finalise details for the 20th Conference of the Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM), to be held in Nadi, Fiji in February, 2018
Fiji Permanent Secretary Iowane Tiko and Deputy Secretary Kelera Taliga have met with officials at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London on November 26, 2017, to finalise details for the 20th Conference of the Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM), to be held in Nadi, Fiji in February, 2018.
All 52 Commonwealth Education Ministers are expected to attend the conference, which will examine progress made by the Education Ministers Action Group (EMAG) in delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for education.
The EMAG was formed at the previous CCCEM in the Bahamas in June, 2015, where ministers offered strategies in which to follow up commitments agreed in the Nassau Declaration.
The Nassau Declaration is a document detailing the major remedial initiatives proposed by Commonwealth Ministers on ensuring development and performance in quality education.
The Permanent Secretary has also called on Fiji teachers “to take ownership” of established education reforms, according to the Fiji Sun Online.
Furthermore, he addressed changes in teaching contracts, saying that the Human Resources Division had been restructured and would now offer new salary bands, with the expectation that these would be matched by teaching performance.
Speaking on disciplinary issues within the sector, Tiko highlighted the rates of student absenteeism at Queen Victoria School.
The school had requested 78 students look for another school following indiscipline.
Tiko said that the problem arose from the type of public transport offered in the Suva and Nausori corridor, as well as failure of parents to report when their children were at home.
The Permanent Secretary said that this issue was one reason why the Education Ministry was looking to enroll students from rural areas and outer islands further away, who he said would value the opportunity to learn more.
