Officials from the Ministry of Education and the FNU following the Inaugural Education Forum at the FNU’s Natabua Campus

The Fiji National University’s (FNU) School of Education (SOE) and the Ministry of Education successfully hosted the Inaugural Education Forum at the FNU’s Natabua Campus in Lautoka last month.

The theme of the forum ‘Reconnecting Teacher Education’, brought together senior officials and senior academics from the education ministry and the SOE.

The SOE falls under the university’s College of Humanities and Education.

The ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary, Timoci Bure said the inaugural forum was an opportunity for his team to engage and discuss serious matters with the SOE team at the FNU.

Bure said this forum was just the beginning to more networking in the future.

“This is a very important opportunity for us that we have put to really good use, and this is definitely not the end of it, but it is the beginning of a lot more networking, meeting and discussing between the Ministry of Education officials especially those in the curriculum section and the SOE at the FNU,” he said.

“It is an opportunity for us to discuss the programs with the FNU and the curriculum review with the Ministry of Education.”

He also highlighted that the ministry would need to consult with the FNU, especially those in the SOE, so that they are able to give their views and contributions towards the development of the curriculum, given that the FNU continues to churn out graduates every year.

“It is important that we continuously consult each other and probably moving forward we will be having pocket meetings with the department heads and officers in the ministry and also the university, to move things forward,” he added.

Bure added that the next step forward was for his team to brief the Minister for Education, Honourable Aseri Radrodro and the Permanent Secretary, Honourable Selina Kuruleca on the outcome of the forum.

The Acting Head of School, School of Education, Vilive Cagivinaka, in his welcome address said the forum marked a significant journey the SOE was embarking on.

Cagivinaka also shared sentiments that this year, the SOE would work on improving the standard of delivery in terms of pre-service teacher’s attributes and to reconnect with stakeholders.

“As the Head of School, it is my goal that after the meeting we will be identifying areas of collaboration and I request the MOE to engage with my team. The SOE is here to assist,” he said.

“The relationships forged here can be instrumental in our collective pursuit of education excellence.”