Teachers suffering from burnout was a contributing factor to the alarming failure rate of Year 12 and Year 13 students in 2022, education stakeholders suggest.

Last year, Year 12 students sat for two external examination – the Year 12 in February, which they were supposed to sit the year before and in November, again sat for the Year 13 exam.

This was due to the COVID-19 restrictions, which forced schools to close for at least three-quarter of the year.

To sit for two external exams in the same year, within a span of eight months, can be exhausting for both teachers and students, said the Fijian Teachers Association general secretary, Paula Manumanunitoga.

On Wednesday, Permanent Secretary Selina Kuruleca revealed that in 2022, 37 per cent of students failed mathematics in the Year Eight external exam, 60 per cent failed mathematics in the Year 12 Certificate Exam and 59 per cent failed mathematics in the Year 13 Certificate Exam.

Mr Manumanunitoga said teachers and student burnout was likely the major factor for worrying results.

Participants during the Fiji National Education Summit 2023 at the Sheraton Fiji Golf and Beach Resort on September 21, 2023. Photos: DEPTFO News

“When teachers are worn out or overworked it curtails down to what the students produce,” he said.

“We have that, and we also have major student behaviour issues that are left unaddressed because teachers basically are left with not much to do when corporal punishment was left out.

“We have teachers who are being sworn at, some got their hair pulled by some mischievous children and these are other contributing factors.

“There are lots of fights after school, students are rocking the buses. We (reminiscing his school days) didn’t do that.”

He added that to some extent corporal punishment could be the solution to these problems.

“No matter how many counsellors we bring in, the problem cannot be solved,” he said.

“They have that fear that they would be taken to task when they misbehave.”

From January to June this year, 440 teachers resigned from the ministry.

Ministry of Education 

Assistant Minister for Education Iliesa Vanawalu said COVID-19 and other factors contributed to such instances.

“We have been elected this year and we are new to this position,” Mr Vanawalu said.

He agreed to the FTA reasons on teachers suffering from burnout.

“Teachers and students were under pressure,” Mr Vanawalu said.

“This summit is an opportunity to discuss those policies that affects the students and the teachers, and I hope at the conclusion of this summit we have our answers.”

Permanent Secretary Kuruleca said whatever happened, had to happen because of the nature of COVID-19.

“It is what it is. Our system was not built for online examination, we don’t have that capacity now and that is an area we will work on,” Ms Kuruleca said.

“COVID happened and we could not do anything.”

However, retired teacher Sakaia Waqaniburotu said doing two major exams in a year added pressure to the students, which could have resulted in the alarming stats recorded last year.

Fiji Teachers Union national president Muniappa Gounder said he was not in a position to comment on the issue because he was not in the school system last year.

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