All identified teacher shortage slots for 2026 have been filled, Education Minister Aseri Radrodro told Parliament last week, after the ministry issued and secured signatures on 414 appointment letters for primary and secondary schools.
Radrodro said the ministry listed 141 primary teacher positions under its 2026 shortage exercise. Of those, five submissions were approved and 175 appointment letters were issued and signed. For secondary schools, the ministry recorded 219 positions, with 10 submissions approved and 239 letters issued and signed. Combined, the ministry recorded a total of 414 letters issued and signed across both levels and said the balance for the exercise is now zero.
The announcement came during a parliamentary exchange prompted by Opposition MP Hem Chand, who had pressed the minister to detail the specific subject areas affected by shortages and to explain how the ministry was addressing gaps in staffing. Radrodro’s response concentrated on the numbers achieved in the latest exercise rather than providing a subject-by-subject breakdown in the figures released to the House.
The ministry’s declaration that there is no remaining balance in the 2026 shortage exercise marks the latest development in efforts to close staffing gaps in Fiji’s schools. The move follows calls from education stakeholders during 2024–25 for a faster turnaround in filling vacant posts, and the government has previously signalled reforms to the human resources process — including proposals for a unified HR hub — to reduce delays in appointment and placement of teachers.
The figures supplied by Radrodro indicate a substantial number of appointments were formalised in this round. The distinction in his statement between "submissions approved" and the larger number of "letters issued and signed" was not explained in detail in Parliament; the terms likely reflect different stages in the ministry’s recruitment and appointment workflow but the ministry did not provide further operational clarification during the session.
Opposition scrutiny of teacher shortages has persisted amid concerns that delayed recruitment and protracted vacancies place extra strain on existing staff and erode learning continuity for students. Hem Chand’s questions in Parliament reflect those ongoing concerns and the appetite among lawmakers for greater transparency on which subject areas remain vulnerable to shortages, and how the ministry plans to sustain staffing gains beyond one-off recruitment drives.
Education officials and school leaders will be watching for follow-up details from the ministry on deployment timelines, whether the newly appointed teachers are in permanent or contractual roles, and how the ministry will monitor the retention of staff in hard-to-fill subject areas and remote postings. For now, the ministry’s report to Parliament stands as the latest official update: 414 appointment letters issued and signed, and no remaining balance in the 2026 teacher shortage exercise.