Page 15 - IB July 2018

Politics Education

the Parties of the Nauru Agreement, Dr
Transform Aqorau was the first to offer Uproar over education reforms
his congratulations to Dr Tupou-Rossen
when the Fisheries selection committee
selected her from the shortlisted candi- Australian experts in Fijian Ministry angers unions
dates of four last May.
“It is great testament to her diligence, in English proficiency and computer
hard work and commitment that she literacy.
has the confidence of the committee. I “Senior teachers who came through the
am heartened by the appointment of Dr. old school and have provided dedicated
Manu, the first female to head the organi- diligent service in rural and maritime
sation which should be an inspiration to By Anish Chand school and made enormous sacrifices are
all Pacific Islanders especially our women. disadvantaged as they haven’t upgraded
“On a more personal level, I am pleased REFORMS in Fiji’s education sector is their education and those who have been
to have played a small part in her remark- going ahead despite concerns raised by exposed to the technology are unduly
able journey as I had been responsible for teacher unions that its being imposed advantaged,” says Singh
her appointment as Legal Officer in 2005 on them. “This is clearly a proof that the open
at the FFA when I was Legal Counsel. Since taking over the Education recruitment system for teachers is lop-
She replaced me as Legal Counsel when I portfolio, Fijian Attorney General Ai- sided,” he adds.
became Deputy Director General so I am yaz Sayed-Khaiyum began a radical The Fiji Teachers Union blames a group
really happy to see her progress to the overhaul of the Ministry, which in turn of Australian experts who are now based
highest echelons of the organisation. has taken an effect on the approximate at the Education headquarters for imple-
“She is going to be taking over at a time 12000 school teachers the government menting these changes.
when the FFA needs to find its niche and employs. A Ministry of Education Human Re-
where it can really make a contribution to One of the key changes was the source Department newsletter reveals the
the peoples of the Pacific Islands. They are implementation of the open merit re- Education Ministry has four advisers who
making excellent strides in monitoring, cruitment and selection system where are “funded by the Australian Govern-
control and surveillance but are strug- all appointments were assessed against ment to support improvements.”
gling in the fisheries policy realm which objective selection criteria which didn’t They are Liz Johnson, an Open Merit
requires a bit of refocus. This is going to discriminate or give preference to any Recruitment System Adviser who is
be challenging as she navigates through individual or group. supporting the recruitment for Heads of
the political economy of the fisheries.” While this has been in place since Schools. Sandy Bottrell is a Contract Audit
Equally happy for the FFA DG-des- 2016, it wasn’t fully implemented until Adviser supporting the audit of employee
ignate was the other woman head of a 2018 and unions representing teachers contracts. Wanda Powell is the HR Imple-
regional organsation, Dame Meg Taylor, aren’t happy. mentation Adviser supporting the new
Secretary General of the Pacific Islands “The Open Merit Recruitment System HR management team to improve HR and
Forum Secretariat who was in Rarotonga has been brought from offshore and to implement the civil service reforms and
for the Fisheries Ministerial that appointed imposed on the Civil Service without any Malcolm Bell is the Organisational Devel-
Dr Manu-Roosen. consultation with the stakeholders. It has opment Adviser who is looking after the
“I am very proud that a daughter of the not been amended or changed to suit the organisational restructure of the Ministry.
Blue Pacific has been appointed Director local situation. The process itself has The Education Ministry says the role
General. The Forum Fisheries Agency serious flaws that questions the validity of advisers is to support the Ministry
plays an extremely important leadership and reliability of it,” says Fiji Teachers management in implementing change
role for our fisheries, one of the most im- Union Secretary General Agni Deo Singh. and better work practices.
portant resources for our people.” Under the system, teachers were tested “Advisers are intended to advise and
“Dr Tupou-Roosen brings great knowl- on their knowledge, experience and abil- their job is not to do the work but to
edge, experience and professionalism ity in two steps before being offered new support the Ministry staff to do so,” says
to this very important position and my job contracts with new salary bands. the Ministry.
colleagues and I at the Pacific Islands Any teacher applying for a new However, the unions think otherwise.
Forum Secretariat and across the Council position was required to write what “The Australians doesn’t understand
of Regional Agencies in the Pacific stand knowledge, experience and ability they the local context at all. They are intro-
ready to work with her and her team into possessed. ducing alien ideas and concepts into our
the future.” This was used as the first screening education system,” says Agni Deo Singh.
“I would like to congratulate the Fish- process where 70% of the applicants Singh says the Australian advisors did
eries Ministers of the Forum Fisheries were eliminated and no consideration a Job Evaluation Exercise without the
Agency for expressing their confidence in was given to those who were acting in input of the unions to determine the new
Dr Tupou-Roosen and for recognising her the positions, claims Singh. salary bands for teachers.
dedication and excellence to the industry. “So much so, teachers could also “The result had various anomalies
I have to say that I am also extremely sugar-coat and have someone else write such as the classification of schools were
proud of the fact that another woman is this two-page citation just to get past the lumped in 3 grades compared to 6 grades
sitting in a key leadership position within first step of recruitment,” he adds. previously,” he says.
the region. This announcement is a very If a teacher is short-listed for a posi- Fiji now has large, medium and small
positive one for the Pacific.” tion, he or she then undergoes a second schools.
r nvolau@islandsbusiness.com round of screening where they are tested r achandftv@gmail.com

Islands Business, July 2018 15