A DEPARTMENT of Finance ruling for all teachers’ to travel to and from recreational leave by air is “ridiculous and must be reviewed immediately”.
It has been blamed for the rut that teachers are stuck in at the end of every year.
Where they could travel by land or sea transport, the Finance Department said they must go by air, Morobe administrator and chairman of the provincial education board Manasupe Zurenuoc said on Monday.
“It is out of touch with reality,” Mr Zurenuoc said, emphasising the strain on meagre resources.
“In the case of Morobe, for 2007 leave fares we requested about K2.6 million. We were allocated K878,900, which is clearly insufficient.
“The Morobe provincial government, realising the shortfall, allocated through its budget a further K550,000, bringing to a total of K1.4 million.”
Teachers’ leave fares was the responsibility of the Papua New Guinea Teaching Service Commission, he said.
“Teachers are employed by the PNGTSC and it is responsible for all personal matters for teachers which include salaries, promotions, terminations and leave fares.”
Mr Zurenuoc’s comments came in the wake of a newspaper report on Monday claiming more than 300 teachers had marched to the provincial headquarters at Toptown.
He dismissed it as “an outright lie”.