Agency highlights challenges

TEACHERS’ absenteeism, alcohol and disciplinary issues are big challenges for many schools in Madang, says the Catholic education secretary Bruno Tulemanil.
Tulemanil told The National that these were issues they faced in schools and most of these were directed to Teaching Service Commission (TSC) to deal with.
“Those teachers who had committed such offenses, we asked them to stay out and referred them to the commission because it is the only body that will deal with them,” he said.
Tulemanil said as much as possible, we wanted them out.
He said this was for their safety as well because some communities, especially in rural schools, could do something to them.
Tulemanil said there was an incident in the past where a teacher who refused to leave a school was killed by the community.
He said if the community didn’t want a particular teacher in a school, he or she had to go for the good of everyone, the safety of the teacher and disruption to classes.
“One thing that the commission has to remember is, if the community doesn’t want a particular teacher, we have to comply with the community,” he said.
Tulemanil highlighted another concern in schools where the number of children overlapped teaching positions, resulting in overcrowding in classes.
He appealed to leaders to build more schools to cater for the growing number of students.