Death of Agni Deo Singh, an outstanding public education champion
It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of Agni Deo Singh, on September 12th, 2026.
Singh was Fiji’s Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, responsible for key areas affecting workers, employment relations and workplace policies.
He also served as General Secretary of the Fiji Teachers Union from 1999 to 2006 and again from 2007 until December 2022. He was also a member of the Education International Asia-Pacific Regional Committee until December 2022. For more than two decades, he was a courageous and unwavering advocate for teachers, workers’ rights, equality, and democracy in Fiji.
“At Education International, we remember his achievements as a teacher union activist rising from the rank of classroom teacher serving rural communities to one of the fiercest, dedicated, and influential trade union leaders in Fiji's history,” Education International (EI) General Secretary David Edwards stated.
He added:
“When Agni transitioned from classroom teacher to union leader, serving as the General Secretary of the Fiji Teachers’ Union (FTU) for nearly two decades, he took with him the struggles of everyday teachers, working people to a lifetime commitment to grassroots advocacy and social justice.”
Edwards also noted that “under his leadership the FTU grew into a formidable force, relentlessly demanding fair salaries and better working conditions for educators across Fiji. He put the wellbeing of teachers at the heart of everything he did because he understood that teacher working conditions and student learning conditions are inextricably linked.”
The EI leader also stressed:
“Upon becoming the Minister for Employment, Productivity, and Industrial Relations, Agni did not leave his union struggles and commitments behind him. Having spent years fighting previous administrations, in one of his first acts as Minister, he signed into law the historic conversion of civil servants—including thousands of teachers and medical staff—from insecure, short-term contract employment to permanent tenure granting these workers the long-overdue job security they deserved.”
“Similarly, on the global level he continued to provide Education International guidance and support, whether it be through his work at the ILO or across the Pacific where he lent his support for the establishment of a pacific wide teacher workforce commission to better analyse and support the achievement of better teacher policy in the interest of students and their families and communities alike,” Edwards went on saying.
The Director of the Education International Asia-Pacific Region, Anand Singh, recalled:
“For those of us who had the privilege of working with Agni, he was much more than the positions he held. He was a comrade, colleague, and friend; passionate, forthright, warm, and sharp-witted, with strong convictions and a remarkable ability to speak his mind. I will remember the many conversations and debates we shared, his humour and generosity, and above all, his unwavering commitment to justice and solidarity. I will also remember his reassuring smile.”
The EI regional Director acknowledged that “his passing is a great loss to the Fiji Teachers Union, the Fijian trade union movement, and the wider Education International family across the Asia-Pacific region.”
To his family, loved ones, colleagues and friends, we express our sincere condolences.
