No subsidies, no school

By ELIAS LARI
SECONDARY and high schools in the highlands will send students home if the second subsidy of the government’s free education policy does not reach them by this week, administrators of some said yesterday.Some schools said they got goods on credit and paid for that when money was deposited into their accounts.Noks Kiap, principal of Togoba Secondary School, in Western Highlands, said to cut down on operational costs, they would have to send the Grades Nine and 11 home and only keep Grades 10 and 12 to allow them to sit for their national examinations.
He said if the subsidies were delayed any further, his school would be badly affected because there were no funds to keep running.Max Tombue, the principal of Erave High School in Southern Highlands, said the prolonged delay in releasing the second quarter subsidies had incurred extra cost for schools.
He said if the problem continued Grades eight, 10 and 12 national examinations would be affected.
“We received K100,000 last year and now we are still waiting,” Tombue said.
He said the government had allocated the money to the Education Department and schools did not know what caused the delay.The first quarter subsidies had already been exhausted.
He said other schools in Southern Highlands faced the same problem.
In Jiwaka, schools are likely to suffer as well.
Manager of the Kuli Vocational Centre in Jiwaka’s Anglimp district, Steward Lupian, said they would need the government support immediately.
Lupain said if the subsidies were not paid, it would be a disaster for all schools and their administrations.
“We need the government’s intervention now before winding down operations.”
He said his administration did not have money to keep operating.