Church-run schools will use policy

CATHOLIC church-run schools across the country will support Government’s 1-1-6 education structure as long as funds are available for the programme, an official says.
National Churches Education Council chairman Michael Ova said this was Government policy and directives which they needed to be budgeted.
“It is a Government initiative and policy, therefore the Government must budget for the new structure,” he said.
Ova said they were working on implementing the structure to the church schools which would take time.
“This will not happen overnight but something to work together to implement this in schools,” he said.
He said churches, non-governmental organisations and the Government could work together to provide services at wards and local level government but funding had to be available. The Government wants to implement but it will cost a lot of money because you are catering for millions of children from the age of three and up,” he said.
Ova said with United Nations Children’s Fund’s help, they had set up early childhood learning centres in primary schools in Madang and almost all parts of Bougainville, Milne Bay and East New Britain.
Education Minister Jimmy Uguro said the 1-6-6 structure would be implemented.
“It will need time, all the agencies stakeholders to work together to roll this out,” he said.
Uguro said there was no set time for schools to completely implement the system because the Government did not have a full budget on this and urged stakeholders to come into partnership to roll out the concept in schools across the country.