Briefs

Surrender call
POLICE in Gulf and Western are calling on locals engaged in illegal fishing with Indonesians in Kikori and the Fly River two weeks ago to surrender. Gulf police commander Inspector Silva Sika said: “We cannot easily locate them where they are hiding after many escaped from Wariabodoro village with their fishing nets and … dinghy.”

Leave fare saga
PAPUA New Guinea Teachers’ Association general secretary Ugwalubu Mowana says there is no rationality for the Government to divert teachers’ annual leave fares to travel agents. “If the State allocate teachers’ annual leave fares to teachers of respective provinces across the country, it is now under the Teachers’ Service Act and supposed to be paid to them as their entitlement under the Act,” Mowana said. “I cannot see any rational here for the Government to take away the privileges of teachers.

Student assessments
DATA concerning internal assessments of students, particularly grades 8, 10 and 12, will now be submitted electronically to the Measurement Service Division at the Education Department. This follows the launching of a new online student data collection system by Education Minister Nick Kuman in Port Moresby last week.

Teachers’ pay
THE Morobe education division is sorting out fewer than 300 teachers to put back on payroll after 1439 were put off pay. Acting provincial education programme adviser Keith Jiram said teachers registered with the formal education system in the province were 1200. “The other 200-plus teachers are from private institutions and do not come under the department. We have fewer than 1200 teachers under the division.”

Fode students
FLEXIBLE open and distance education (Fode) coordinator for Morobe Nemica Jacob has called on students to register under the appropriate Fode institutions. Her call came after students and teachers under the Morobe provincial government tutorial programme, which later changed to intervention programme, led a protest to the provincial headquarters last Tuesday.

Thirty attend workshop
More than 30 men, women and youths from the Unggai-Bena district in Eastern Highlands went through a three-day workshop on family and sexual violence, child abuse and related laws earlier this month in Goroka. Participants included the ward counsellor, church leaders, community-based volunteers, village court magistrates and village court clerks. The workshop facilitated by Femili PNG was conducted at the request of Sallyn Lomutopa, of Ginipa Coffee, after she identified that community leaders in Unggai-Bena needed to be sensitised on the issues of FSV and child abuse.

Volunteers trained
THE National Volunteer Service of PNG is conducting a two-week pre-service orientation training in Morobe for 34 volunteers. The volunteers were from New Guinea Islands, Mamose and Highlands regions. They are teachers, community health workers, nursing officers, agriculture officers, fish farmers, a boat builder and tourism officers. Programme director Jacqueline Krewanty said the training was to prepare them on what to expect from communities and what the communities expected from them as volunteers.