Nothing New With Delay: Radrodro

Teacher pay and benefits concerns dominating recent headlines are “not new,” says Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro, who insists the challenges have been inherited from previous administrations.

Responding to widespread reports of delayed Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) contributions, missing payslips, and salary issues for new graduates, Mr Radrodro said the ministry has implemented monitoring procedures to streamline processes and prevent future delays.

“The issues highlighted in the media are not new but have been inherited from past Ministry of Education administrations,” Mr Radrodro said.

“However, we have put in place systems to ensure timely delivery of salaries and FNPF payments.”

Mr Radrodro acknowledged that the delayed FNPF contributions for January and February were due to the rollout of a new payroll system.

He confirmed that the ministry had since resolved those challenges and expects all outstanding payments to be cleared within the week.

On the issue of missing payslips, the minister explained that they were previously accessible through the ministry’s FEMIS database until the launch of the new payroll system in early 2025.

The new system, managed by the Ministry of Finance, is currently incompatible with FEMIS and other government platforms hosted by the Government ITC Services.

Pay delay

He also addressed frustrations among newly-graduated teachers, stating that their salary processing involves several steps – including induction, qualification verification, and system integration – which can lead to delays.

“We are actively working to resolve all pending salary payment issues,” he said.

But, on social media, teachers push back against claims regarding qualification verification.

One teacher argued that before entering the classroom, all required qualifications, documents, and verification process had already been completed. He stressed that these steps were part of the registration process and completed in advance, questioning the reasons outlined by the minister.

Another commentator said: “An inherited issue that is taking almost four years now and it’s still not corrected.”

Another shared that ‘although it was inherited, it was never delayed this long.’

Regarding payments for teachers who have upgraded their qualifications, Mr Radrodro stressed that their efforts are not being overlooked.

He noted that 295 eligible officers received payments for qualification upgrades in December 2024 and confirmed that more were being considered in the upcoming 2025–2026 budget.

Mr Radrodro reaffirmed his commitment to educators, promising continued efforts to ensure they were compensated fairly and promptly.

“The ministry remains dedicated to securing the welfare of our teachers. We will continue to work diligently to resolve all outstanding issues.”

Feedback: inoke.rabonu@fijisun.com.fj