THERE are a lot of anxious parents – some more anxious than others – out there right now as the countdown begins for the 2008 school year.
A lot of things are going through their heads, the major headache being school fees.
But for those who are more anxious than the others, school fees is just one part of the problem. They have another problem of deciding where they should send their children to school.
Malax is one such parent who is overwhelmed by the sense of duty to his children to get a decent education.
His kids, after all, are his investment in the future – for him and for themselves. He wants them to attend a good school, a school which lives up to the highest expectations of any parent.
But in today’s world, that is something of a tall order. The best can only be achieved by the ones who have. One can only afford so much and if you wanted the best for your kids, you have to go beyond your means and that was just practically not possible.
The best schools are the ones with the best facilities, the best administration and the best history in terms of education achievements.
In the contemporary PNG society, that description perhaps fit private and mission schools.
Malax had been sending his children to public schools over the past seven years and he is not impressed at all with the deteriorating conditions of the school.
It seems the Government, despite record windfalls in recent times, have neglected, perhaps the most important priority of its focus – that of education.
He has heard talk about education being the impetus to the alleviation of poverty, change of attitude, healthy and productive families among others, yet the attention that education institutions around the country and in particular at Vanessa’s school, leave a lot to be desired.
Lately, he has been thinking hard about his eldest daughter Vanessa, who is going to do her Grade 8 – her final year at Milfordhaven Primary School.
He has two other boys attending the school that he was a pioneering student. He’s not really concerned about Rex, who’s doing his Grade 5 this year and Jax, who is progressing to Grade 3 from elementary.
What had been niggling him all through last year and during the children’s holidays was that Vanessa was shaping up to be a fine young woman, who, if pointed in the right direction, would have the world as her feet. She had good grades, was popular in school and sports and was, for all he knew, was aiming for the sky.
But the school board chairman Tara Mora’s words kept reverberating in his head: “We have a huge problem and because of lack of assistance and funding, we cannot meet the costs and requirements of maintaining and upgrading the school’s facilities. It is a concern because sooner or later the school may close down.”
He knew where Mr Mora’s concerns were. He had been a pioneer student when the school opened in 1962 and 45 years down the line, he had seen for himself, the deteriorating conditions of the school – rundown classrooms and toilet facilities, neglected teachers houses and security fencing. The school was now a health and safety hazard and a deterrent for parents who wanted the good education for their kids in an environment with equally good facilities.
He is thinking about putting Vanessa in another school but his mind was troubled with questions of whether she would adapt, would there be space and whether he could afford it.
Milfordhaven’s headmaster Amapu Kwila’s words added fuel to his deliberations: “The school has dropped from level seven to level six because parents were removing their children from the school and enrolling them elsewhere. This is happening because of security and health risks,” Mr Kwila, who has been with the school for the past 10 years, pointed out at the recent 13th graduation ceremony of 106 Grade 8 students.
He found some reassurance, however, that of the 106 graduates, 79 would continue their education in secondary schools and he knew deep in his heart that her daughter would be in that category come next year.
For now, he had a few more weeks to decide on the future of his daughter but he was not impressed at all with the Government for neglecting the schools.
He was aware that the school had made a submission to both local and national education authorities for funding to maintain and upgrade school facilities but had not had a response.
Towards the end of last year when heavy rain caused the sewage system to block and flood, there were moves to close the school down, but Mr Mora and his board decided otherwise in favour of the children’s education.
Except for a few supporters in the likes of school patron Sir Bob Sinclaire, who has pledged K10,000 to the school every year and a sponsorship for every Grade 8 dux to secondary school, long-time Lae resident Kaity Bluett and the Rotary Club of Lae, who donated an 8,000-litre tuffa tank and 300 chairs, Mr Mora is sadly aware that the situation would persist if no help is forthcoming from the appropriate education authorities, concerned parents, ex-students and citizens.
But Mr Mora can take heart in the Wise Counsellor’s words: “It’s not the greatness of our troubles but the littleness of our faith that makes us complain …”

 

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