Big tides forced school to relocate, staff says

AN elementary school on Tubetube Island in Samarai-Murua, Milne Bay, has been forced to re-locate due to adverse conditions, a senior teaching staff says.
Rita Muraga, teacher-in-charge of Tubetube Elementary School, shared how King tides had affected the school in 2019.
She said that year, King tides had flowed through the school, which is located near the shoreline, damaging classrooms and posing a threat to students most of whom were between the ages of six and eight years.
“We had to run out of the classroom for safety,” she said.
“With an annual enrolment of 50 to 60 students, their safety has always been our priority.”
Muraga said the school had informed the community of their plight and were helped to re-locate the school.
She said the re-location project was supported by the Tubetube Bright Island Lighthouse, a community-based organisation under the National Maritime and Safety Authority.
Muraga said with the approval of the United Church to use its land for the school re-location, the community took on the initiative to build a new classroom for the elementary school.
“Since its establishment in 2013, the school faced issues with limited funding with an annual budget of K3,000 from the Milne Bay education division,” she said.
“The teachers had to manage the school operations with the limited funding.
“There is limited to zero budget for disaster-planning and climate adaptation measures.”
Chairman of the re-location project, Bruce Russell, said they were grateful to the United Church.