The Ministry of Education is calling on teachers to check their Fiji Education Manage­ment Information System (FEMIS) account and upload signed copies of their e-contracts before schools start.

Permanent Secretary for Educa­tion, Alison Burchell says “teachers are to do so in order to avoid disrup­tions to their pays for the start of Term One”.

“The system will significantly streamline the ministry’s process­es… as of now, 2500 teachers have successfully signed their e-contracts while at least 800 have yet to sign theirs.

“This system can be accessed from anywhere in the world, allowing those teachers still overseas to sign theirs.”

This new system allows for teachers employed by the ministry to do these uploads from wherever they are and not come to Suva. The initiative was launched in November 2019.

“The process would normally take five minutes to complete,” she said.

The Ministry has assured teachers who have missed pay run one com­ing out next week, that manual pay­ment will be facilitated.

Teachers can call the number 162 for assistance.

However, the ministry has con­firmed that 9000 plus teachers have been guaranteed five-year contracts, while 14,000 are on the verge of their confirmation after verification.

The ministry has also confirmed that graduates from universities around the country will have a five-year contract for bachelors pro­grammes and certain diploma pro­grammes.

Meanwhile, the ministry is pleased to report that even with only 70 avail­able vacancies 424 transfers have been approved to date through an in­itiative to create new opportunities for teachers whenever it best serves both their needs and those of the stu­dents they serve.

Priority has been placed on high-need teachers, and the ministry is focused on reuniting families wher­ever possible.

All transfer status updates will be issued and posted to the Fijian Edu­cation Management Information System (FEMIS) by tomorrow.

Any remaining requests will re­main in the pool of applicants for consideration for future terms, which is constantly re-examined to create further opportunities and fill vacancies where they exist.

Thus, those teachers who have not had a transfer confirmed are asked to return to the same school until such time as a transfer is possible.

Any questions can be directed to the ministry by dialing 9904513, and officials will be staffing this hel­pline from the hours of 9am to 5pm throughout the weekend and from 8.00am to 5pm during week days.

Minister for Education Rosy Akbar looks forward to starting 2020 in a way that will be as smooth as possi­ble for Fijian teachers and requests their active and timely participation in this process to ensure its success and avoid any unnecessary disrup­tions.

Edited by Ivamere Nataro

Feedback: ilaijia.ravuwai@fijisun.com.fj