Abau schools expecting K2 million

PRIMARY schools in the Abau district, Central province, are expected to get a major boost of more than K2 million from the Government through the district service improvement project (DSIP) which is aimed at improving education infrastructure in the districts.
This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Abau MP Sir Puka Temu last Friday during the opening of a new staff room building at Iopara Primary School near Kupiano, in the Abau district, Central province.
More than 300 students, teachers and parents gathered at the school grounds to participate in the important occasion.
While acknowledging the National Executive Council’s latest endorsement of the universal basic education policy, Sir Puka invited the students to go back to their individual homes and encourage their parents and other children to work hand in hand in bringing education in the country to the next level.
“Our biggest challenge is when we don’t believe in ourselves, other countries will move ahead and we will be left behind,” he said.
“In the next joint district planning and budget committee meeting, we are going to approve maintenance programmes for health and education at a cost of K1 million  each to ensure that all education and health projects run.”
Meanwhile, the school also launched its School Learning Improvement Planning (SLIP) programme recently adopted by schools and aimed at lifting education standards.
Iopara Primary School is attended by children from the neighbouring villages and is ranked among the top five primary schools in the district in terms of student academic performance.
The new staff room which cost more than K20,000 was named after the schools former headmaster Gairo Wavuri.
Mr Wavuri came up with the initiative last year and was the first person to contribute K5,000 to kick start the project.
It is now called the Gairo Wavuri staff room.
Headmaster Lama Roa urged the teachers to look after the new facilities, adding that plans were inplace  for a new library.