Education Commissioner Anaseini Raivoce has warned the Parliamentary standing committee reviewing the Education Bill that the proposed National Curriculum and Assessment Authority risks being hollowed out by government interference unless significant changes are made. In formal submissions to the Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights this week, Raivoce urged lawmakers to enshrine the authority’s legal personality and operational independence, arguing the current drafting would leave it vulnerable to shifting political decisions.
Raivoce told committee members the authority must be set up “like the other statutory bodies” to prevent successive administrations from altering core assessment policies — citing a recurring pattern where one government reintroduces scaling and another removes it. “The independence would mean that, like the other statutory bodies, so that we don’t have any other interference from government. For instance, what is happening, what we have seen, one government comes in reintroduces scaling, another government comes in, removes scaling,” she told MPs.
Among the commission’s concrete recommendations is that the authority be established as a body corporate with perpetual succession and its own legal personality, governed by a board of seven to nine members appointed through a transparent, skills‑based process. The Commission stressed members should include experts in early childhood and secondary education, governance and law. Raivoce argued the Permanent Secretary should not preside as chair — though the secretary could remain a board member — warning that naming the Permanent Secretary chair in the current bill “undermines its autonomy.”
To safeguard operational independence, the Commission also proposed an explicit independence clause disallowing ministerial direction on curriculum content, assessments and examinations. It recommended a dedicated finance division modelled on the Higher Education Commission, with audited financial statements tabled in Parliament and oversight by the Auditor‑General, to ensure financial accountability without compromising the authority’s statutory autonomy.
During the committee session, Standing Committee member Jone Usamate questioned whether a separate authority with its own staff was necessary. Raivoce replied that structural independence was vital to protect curriculum and assessment decisions from political cycles and to maintain consistent standards for students and teachers. She pointed to New Zealand and Australia as examples where curriculum authorities operate independently in practice even when ministers have a role in board appointments.
The Education Commission’s submission marks the latest development in parliamentary scrutiny of the Education Bill as it proceeds through committee review. If the standing committee accepts the Commission’s recommendations, the bill would likely be amended to create a stronger, standalone National Curriculum and Assessment Authority. If not, the Commission warns the authority could remain without legal personality and subject to ministerial influence, leaving Fiji’s curriculum and assessment framework exposed to future policy reversals.
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