School gets help from govt for first time

The Raten Elementary School in the Angoram district of East Sepik received government assistance for the first time this year since it was registered as a government agency school in 2010, a community leader and former teacher says.
Jackson Bondo, who led his community to re-open the school in 2003, said it had been operating through community fundraising.
Bondo said it was never inspected by any education official since it registered.
“For the first time since registering as a government agency school in 2010, the school received an amount of K1400 from the government last month to cater for more than 260 children from Raten and other neighbouring villages,” Bondo said.
He said a three-in-one classroom was built using bush materials and there were four volunteer teachers working full time without pay to ensure the children from Raten and other neighbouring villages in Angoram were taught at an early age.
Bondo urged other local communities throughout Papua New Guinea to work together and provide services that were not available in their villages with whatever resources they had.
He said government could only support where necessary.
“After I resigned from teaching, I went back to my village and saw that the only elementary school in my village was not operating. As a teacher, I used my skills to revive the school and with the help of four local volunteer teachers, children in my village now have a school,” Bondo said.