By ROMULUS MASIU
MANY school leavers in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville(ARB) are not being accommodated and are going back to their villages with gloomy prospects.
This was the concern raised by many parents after another long list of school leavers in the three secondary and the six high schools in the region headed back home.
Parents who can spend money are reportedly sending their children to other institutions in the country which they claim “is a very expensive exercise.”
However, majority of concerned parents want this trend to stop.
They are calling on the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) through its education division to set up an institution on the island to cater for the increasing number of school leavers each year.
One concerned parent Joseph Minnou, speaking on behalf of other parents, said it was high time that ABG revived technical and vocational colleges in the island to accommodate the many school leavers.
“Sending school leavers to institutions in other provinces is very costly for many parents who cannot afford school, transport and accommodation fees,” he said.
“What the government should do now is to get funding from somewhere to build or set up such institution on the island,” Mr Minnou said.
“Our children who are looking for training or skills after their formal education could easily have access to such institutions,” Mr Minnou pointed out.
He added that there was a great need for technical, teachers’ and nursing colleges on the island “because at the moment, many young Bougainvilleans are leaving our shores and going to other provinces for training,” he said.
Mr Minnou described this as a very expensive exercise for the ordinary parents who, unlike financially sound parents, cannot afford to send their children to other provinces to gain education and training.
Mr Minnou, who is also concerned as a parent, said if the government could not accommodate these school leavers or “drop-outs” as they are popularly known, they would surely engage themselves in many illegal activities.
“The reason is that their minds are still in a state of trauma due to the recent conflict on the island,” he said.
ABG President Joseph Kabui said he was aware of the plight of Bougainvillean school leavers and his government is committed to working with the people to improve the education on the island.
Mr Kabui assured that the education is one of the priorities of his government.
“Creation of such institution in the island is already on my agenda,” he said.