134 teachers lose pay over appointment papers

One hundred and thirty-four teachers did not receive their salaries in Pay 18 because their permanent appointment documents had not been returned and processed.

The Ministry of Education confirmed the affected teachers had been issued permanent appointment contracts, but the signed documents were not returned on time.

As a result, their employment information was not updated in the Ministry’s Fiji Education Management Information System (FEMIS) and the issue was picked up during payroll verification.

But the Fijian Teachers Association has questioned who should be held responsible when teachers are sent to schools before receiving their appointment letters.

Fijian Teachers Association general secretary Paula Manumanunitoga said there were cases where Ministry officers told teachers to report to schools and assured them their appointment letters would follow.

“If the appointment letter is late, then who should be blamed?” Mr Manumanunitoga asked.

“Blame yourself for not providing well to teachers,” Mr Manumanunitoga said.

For one affected teacher, discovering that no salary had been deposited was distressing.

The teacher told this masthead it was heartbreaking to take family members to the bank, only to find that no salary had been deposited.

When the teacher sought answers from the Ministry, they were told the appointment letter was still pending the Permanent Secretary’s signature.

Fiji Teachers Union general secretary Muniappa Goundar said the issue was linked to the transition from contracts back to tenure and the processing of permanent appointment letters.

He said teachers who received permanent appointment letters needed to sign and return them to the Ministry so their employment records could be updated.

“That is so that the salaries are not stopped,” Mr Goundar said.

He said some teachers had taken months to return their documents, while changes at the Ministry had also created technical problems in some cases.

Education Minister Aseri Radrodro said the Ministry’s verification had also identified 13 “ghost employees” — people who were no longer employed by the Ministry but continued receiving salaries.

“Payroll checks were carried out to ensure public money was only paid to legitimate employees.” Mr Radrodro said.

He described the affected cases as teachers who had not followed the proper process and referred to them as “unauthorised teachers”.

The Ministry has reminded teachers to return all required emp