Opposition MP urges Ministry to fix payroll system
MP Hem Chand is calling for a full investigation and says the Ministry of Education must ensure teachers are paid on time.
Sunday 13 September 2026 | 11:00
Updated 13 September 2026 | 12:28 FJT
Opposition Member of Parliament Hem Chand.
Photo: Parliament of Fiji
Opposition MP Hem Chand has urged the Ministry of Education to fix its payroll system and ensure teachers are paid on time after 134 teachers missed their Pay 18 salaries.
The Shadow Minister for Education said the Ministry needed to investigate what went wrong and ensure a similar situation did not happen again.
"I am blaming Ministry of Education, because Ministry of Education, again I would say, what they were supposed to do, they did not do it," Mr Chand said.
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He said the missed pay had affected 134 teachers and their families.
"This has affected 134 teachers, their families," he said.
Mr Chand said teachers should not have to worry about their finances while carrying out their responsibilities in the classroom.
"Teachers, they have families to feed. They have a lot of other things to do," he said.
He called on the Minister for Education to fully investigate the matter and establish why the teachers were not paid.
"Minister should fully investigate what went wrong, why these teachers were not paid," Chand said.
The Ministry has previously confirmed that 134 teachers, including 30 heads of school, were affected because their permanent appointment documents had not been returned and processed.
The issue was identified during a payroll verification exercise.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has since directed the Ministry of Finance to assist in clearing the outstanding payments.
Mr Chand said the Ministry needed to ensure the payroll system was fixed and teachers received their salaries on time.
"My request to Ministry of Education, they have to make sure teachers are paid on time," he said.
