Teachers still stuck in Western Highlands Province

By JAMES APA GUMUNO
TWO weeks before the 2008 school year starts, 300 teachers in the Western Highlands province are still waiting for their leave fares to go home for holidays.
Of the K1.8 million in teachers leave fares budget sent to Mt Hagen from the Education Office in Port Moresby, only K800,000 was given out.
A number of teachers, speaking on behalf of all affected, said they believed the balance (K1 million) was misused or diverted elsewhere.
The teachers said that they talked to the assistant education secretary Hans Gima four times about their leave fares but he did not give them a definite answer as to when their tickets would be ready.
Mr Gima reportedly told them that the money allocated was exhausted and they had to wait till another K1 million was released, then they would get their tickets and go home.
Frustrated teachers said they submitted their applications together with necessary documents as requested by education officers working at the Kapal Haus, but nothing has happened.
The teachers claimed that some of their colleagues, who were doing further studies at the University of Goroka and did not apply for leave fares, were somehow provided leave fares, even though they were not entitled to it.
Those who are due for leave, are still in Mt Hagen.
The teachers also claimed that officers working at the Kapal Haus and even airline companies refused to give them the print out of the number of teachers who received their leave fares last year.
The angry teachers said if they did not receive anything within the next two weeks, they would lodge a formal complaint with the office of Ombudsman Commission and police fraud squad to carry out an investigation.
Mr Gima was out of his office and could not be contacted for comments yesterday.