The education system needs an overhaul.
This has been highlighted in the Fiscal Review Committee report that says the eroding skills base is a major threat to Fiji’s ability to put plans and ideas into action and this threat will continue for the foreseeable future.
The report has stressed on the importance of vocational training and guidance to be provided at the secondary school level.
It says identifying the particular skills of individual students at an early age will help guide or focus them on their most appropriate near-term studies and training whether in technical, professional, academic and even sporting fields.
The report says providing this early focus is a win-win solution for the student and also to the tertiary or training institutions who can plan accordingly for the likely registrations on an annual basis.
They say the government should move quickly to convene a national education summit to begin the process of reinvigorating the historically strong education partnership between government and the community.
The report says the summit should focus on how, as education partners, they can deliver a relevant and forward-looking national education curriculum, improve autonomy for school leadership to ensure that they pursue the best options to improve their schools using government funding, including money for capital works and student transport, harness the power of school communities to raise funds to improve facilities and create imaginative local school options, build their own teams of teachers and staff.
It says the summit should ensure co-ordination of local school activities with national education priorities, modernize school safety practices and ensure that students from poorer families are protected and have the ability to compete with their peers and maximise the opportunities that education can bring them.
The Minister for Education has confirmed the Education Summit will be held in August.
The 2023-2024 National Budget will be delivered at 10am this Friday.
