60% of Year 8 students fail Math in 2022, report reveals

Nearly 60 per cent of Year 8 students failed Math in 2022.

This has prompted Government to launch a major early learning programme to fix weak foundations in Fiji’s education system.

The failure rate was revealed yesterday at the launch of the Yavutu Programme, which targets children from pre-primary to Year 3 to strengthen basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro said many children were falling behind before they even begin school.

“The early years of a child’s education are critical. It is during this time that the building blocks of literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills are laid,” he said.

“These are the skills that shape a child’s ability to learn, to grow, and to thrive in an ever-changing world.”

The 2022 results also showed 38 per cent of Year 8 students failed their overall national examination.

While failure rates are lower in Years 12 and 13, this is largely because many struggling students leave school before reaching those grades.

UNICEF Pacific’s Deputy Representative Anna Smeby said without a strong foundation, children cannot have stability, support, and resilience.

“Whether you’re building a house, launching a project, or developing skills, you need a strong foundation to ensure everything built on top can grow, last, and perform well without collapsing or failing,” she said.

“And the same goes for learning for our children.”

The US$5 million (FJ$11.4 million) programme will run for four years, focusing on empowering teachers with hands-on training and better classroom resources.

It will also strengthen school clusters for peer learning and improve national policies to guide teachers in ensuring smooth transitions from pre-primary to early primary education.

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