100 teachers still stranded in Sepik

By GABRIEL FITO
WITH less than a fortnight to go before the start of the new school year, more than 100 teachers in East Sepik are still waiting for their airline tickets to go home for their holidays.
The teachers from primary and secondary schools in the province had been repeatedly checking for their leave fares at the provincial education office since schools closed in early December.
The affected teachers are from provinces outside East and West Sepik.
Two of the teachers, who asked not to be identified, said last Friday they were frustrated because it was too late to travel home because classes resume in two weeks.
They said there were no other alternatives such as allowances for PMV or boat because the Education Department only provided airline tickets to the nearest airport.
Some of the teachers have been released from their teaching posts in the province but were still waiting for their final airfares to their home provinces.
The two teachers said the response they got from the provincial education office before Christmas was that the Bureau of Management Services had closed and they had to wait until the new year.
However, when they started checking early this month, they were advised to check again this week because the provincial treasury was closed and cheques could not be processed.
Attempts to get comments from provincial education adviser Joseph Auli yesterday were unsuccessful as both lines to the provincial education office were out of service.