Ministry should see teachers as clients and look after them - AG

The Ministry of Education should see teachers as clients and look after them, but unfortunately they don’t.

These were the words of Attorney General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed‑Khaiyum who was speaking to high school students at the 2018‑2019 National Budget Consultation at Suva Grammar School yesterday.

A student of Rishikul Sanatan College had asked if there was a special training program for scholars who have gone through tertiary institutions on how to behave with their students or customers.

She says some trainee teachers are not able to interact properly with students and they do not explain things properly resulting in students not understanding what they are being taught.

The Attorney General says that there is a need to be customer focused. He says for the Ministry of Education, the schools are its clients.

He says if they are looked after, teachers will be in a better state of mind and they will teach students well and there will be a good learning environment.

He says the government is spending $790 million‑ odd dollars on education and it needs the money to be spent well which means that all students should get something out of the education system.

The Minister says the government does not hold special classes and that is something that needs to be raised with the university on the courses they run.