The President of Fiji Teachers Union said the interim government should pay for the teachers wanting to pursue further studies to improve their academic qualifications and teaching skills.

Balram said the teachers pay from their pocket to study and sometimes have to take leave without pay to complete their studies.

He said the teachers studying part-time were refunded by the Public Service Commission before however it is not the case now. He said under the Partnership Agreement with the SDL led government, it was decided that more in-service training will be provided to the teachers and a job evaluation will be done however he said all this has been shelved by the Interim Government.

He said currently some teachers get scholarships from the government after they complete 15 to 17 units at their own expense.

Balrams comment comes after the Interim Education Minister Filipe Bole today said that under its policy, the Interim Ministry encourages teachers to improve their academic qualifications and it is encouraging to see that teachers are enrolling at their own expenses for part time and Distance Flexible Learning courses.

However he called on teachers to ensure that they do not become so preoccupied with their studies that their students’ progress is jeopardized. He said teachers cannot attend lectures during teaching hours and school heads do not have the authority to grant such leave to teachers. He calls on school heads to inform the Education Ministry of all leave taken by the teachers.