KINDERGARTEN teachers have been ignored by the Ministry of Education and the school managers that employ them.
This was the view of a kindergarten teacher in Tavua, during the public Constitution submissions at Tavualevu Village on Thursday.
Rosan Pravina Devi of Tagitagi, Tavua said preschool teachers were not being paid enough for the early childhood education that they provided to their students.
"Some of us are receiving $900 every year and that is not enough for any of us," said Ms Devi.
She said school managements and the Ministry of Education had to do more for early childhood education and address issues faced by the teachers.
"We can't survive on the little that we get and we want something to be done about this. If we are under the Ministry of Education then why aren't being treated as equal to our primary and secondary school counterparts," asked Ms Devi.
She urged that assistance be provided to preschool teachers and that their salary be improved.
Ms Devi also called on the commission to assist in bringing back the Class Six, Class Eight and Form Four external exams for primary and secondary school students.
She said students were not being graded properly with the newly-introduced assessment system.