Unions split over corporal punishment ahead of Constitution Review

With corporal punishment protections removed from the proposed Education Bill, questions are mounting over whether the ban will withstand a broader review of the 2013 Constitution, as nationwide public consultations begin and Fiji’s two main teacher unions take opposing positions.

The Fijian Teachers Association (FTA) and the Fiji Teachers Union (FTU) are divided after Parliament’s Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights recommended removing Clause 73 — the clause that explicitly prohibits corporal punishment — from the Education Bill 2025.

The committee said the clause was unnecessary because Section 41(d) of the 2013 Constitution already bans corporal punishment. However, with the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) launching two months of nationwide public consultations from today, that constitutional safeguard is also under scrutiny.

FTA general secretary Paula Manumanunitoga has renewed his call for corporal punishment to be reinstated.

“There will be more disciplinary issues. There will be more assault on teachers. And it’s going to get way out of hand,” he said.

Mr Manumanunitoga said village and provincial councils across the country had already expressed support for bringing corporal punishment back.

“All the village councils and the provincial councils wanted corporal punishment to be brought back,” he said.

“If the majority says something, then I think that’s a strong enough mandate for them to work on.”

He added the FTA may opt not to make a submission to the CRC.

“It seems like it’s useless,” he said.

FTU general secretary Muniappa Goundar, however, rejected the idea, saying corporal punishment had no place in Fiji’s education system.

“The Fiji Teachers Union does not condone corporal punishment. It is against the 2013 Constitution and against the rights of a child,” he said.

Mr Goundar said the union supported positive reinforcement, counselling and parental involvement as more effective disciplinary approaches.

He also cited Fiji’s international obligations.

“Fiji is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,” he said.

“For us, we don’t want to be against the Constitution. It is the law. We want to be within the limits of the law, as a union.”

The CRC’s nationwide consultations will run until July 3, with written submissions accepted until June 30.