Budget cut for church schools

THE recent budget cuts for church schools nationwide are posing challenges, the National Churches Education Council chairman Michael Ova says.
“Many rural schools need help, but we cannot help them all due to limited funding,” he said.
“The schools are struggling with learning and teaching resources but we are only able to help a few with water tanks and other resources.
“We want to do much more for these schools but we have to wait for another funding allocation to continue to reach out to the schools.”
Ova said much of the funding came from the Australian government through Caritas Australia.
“The funds are coordinated under the church partnership programme,” he said, explaining how funding was given to schools run by the 10 main line churches in the country.
“We are always grateful for all the funds that we have been getting over the years annually under this programme.”
Ova said slight changes had been made recently with the council reporting to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands for the funding allocations.
He explained that schools and church leaders would present their itineraries to the conference head office in Port Moresby, through the National Churches Education Council office, for funding to run programmes such as principals meeting or workshops, including Coronavirus (Covid-19) awareness programmes.
“The council receives about K700,000 annually in the past years but in recent years, the budget allocation dropped to K350,000,” he said.
Ova clarified that this was because Caritas Australia has shifted its focus slightly to help with natural disasters in the country in recent years.
“This year, we might receive K250,000,” he said.
“These funds will continue if the programmes are effective.”