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Taking the initiative for the future

Recently, this column highlighted the problem of certain retired or retrenched civil servants squandering their pinis pe (final payout/entitlements).
What has happened to the final entitlements of these ex-public servants is an unfortunate indictment of all the years of service to the public and leaving the civil service empty handed as it were.
The money that could have been better used for life after civil service had been wasted.
Today, this column would like to share the story of a career public servant, who has put to good use some of his entitlements while still working.
This is the story of Frank Makora, a simple policeman of 23 years of service to the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary who has invested K10,520 of his entitlements for a university diploma.
Rising to the rank of a senior constable in over two decades of service, Mr Makora felt it was time to return to the classroom and refresh his mind with some studies.
And that is when he resorted to studying the Diploma in Management course offered by Divine Word University’s Faculty of Flexible Learning.
Mr Makora paid his own fees after he was unable to get the Police Department or AusAID sponsorship for studies like colleagues before him.
Being the sole bread winner, Mr Makora had to weigh out the consequences of pursuing studies as a self-sponsored student. That is when he resorted to the counsel of his immediate family – his wife and six children.
After discussion with his family the consensus was that he takes up the studies since they are located in Madang where the university is.
The family’s sacrifice of K10,520 of their income and loan from police savings to pay for Mr Makora’s studies over the last two years is set to pay off next month, when he joins the colourful DWU graduation procession to receive his diploma.
It is expected to be an emotional day for the 39-year-old traffic policeman, his wife, five sons and one daughter as the decision to allow their sole bread-winner to advance his education was a tough one they had to make two years ago.
This closely-knit family from Mukunarouka village in inland Rigo, Central province, met one day and agreed that their head of the family should use their leave entitlements and a loan from the Police Savings and Loan Society to pay for his studies at the DWU’s Faculty of Flexible Learning (FFL).
When the 2007 academic year at DWU ended several weeks ago, that family sacrifice for Mr Makora’s fees stood at K10,520. He had paid all that much to the surprise of staff at the FFL, some of whom were sympathetic that the fees would inhibit him from completing his studies.
Mr Makora said the lecturers in particular were worried because from their experience, self-sponsored students often discontinued their studies and some members of his colleagues did discontinue.
This soft-spoken Rigo man sees that sacrifice in retrospect as a worthy investment.
“Now I feel I am somebody. My road is open now. I can put to good use my management education from Divine Word University to help me and family’s future,” Mr Makora declared.
He envied the AusAID and departmental sponsorship of police officers for further studies at Divine Word University in recent years and he wanted to be one of them.
Mr Makora applied for an opportunity through the normal chain of command in the police force but the AusAID sponsorship arrangement had ceased and he was told by police headquarters at Konedobu to wait until future sponsorship becomes available.
But the senior constable couldn’t wait much longer with DWU already accepting him to study.
With nowhere else to go, he turned to his immediate family.
By March 2006, Mr Makora had enrolled and was attending his first semester on-campus (resident) component classes for two weeks at DWU’s FFL.
Two years later, Mr Makora is ready to graduate. But that took some sacrifice as along the way, he had to balance his studies with work, family and having to look for school fees. It wasn’t easy.
But Mr Makora was fortunate on two fronts.
First, he resides at the new Madang police barracks right next to the DWU campus. This meant walking to and from campus and quick access to university facilities and lecturers.
Secondly, the university was patient and flexible enough to allow Mr Makora to source funding from the Police Savings and Loan Society as long as he provided a guarantee and that meant delayed payments.
Mr Makora said he and his family were satisfied with what he had achieved over the past two years.
They have all collectively heaved a sigh of relief as if Mr Makora’s pursuit of educational enlightenment was their achievement, which indeed, it is.
Now, they can’t wait for next month’s graduation – a moment to cherish when their Grade 10-educated father and husband graduate with his Management diploma.
For Snr Const Makora, a loyal policeman of 22 years’ service, the attainment of a diploma from a university is everything he could have wished for to further his career.
Mr Makora credits his success in education at DWU to his family, the Police Savings and Loans Society, his immediate boss Snr Sgt Greg Maguli (OIC Traffic in Madang), his work colleagues and the lecturers and support staff of FFL at DWU.