City schools still under dept’s care: Parkop

Schools in the nation’s capital are still under the care of the Education Department, NCD Governor Powes Parkop says.
Parkop said a memorandum of understanding to have the responsibility of schools transferred from the Education Department to NCDC had not been implemented.
He said the agreement was signed between the department and NCDC two years ago.
“We are still not responsible for the city schools,” he said.
“They are still national government responsibility even though we signed an MoU to transfer.”
It is understood that the question of schools infrastructure development and expansion in NCD would not be possible as the transfer of responsibility was still with the department.
Assistant secretary for education in NCD Sam Lora said schools in the city could not expand infrastructure due to land scarcity.
Lora said more classrooms were needed to cater for the increasing number of student enrolments.
But, he said, land availability in the city was the biggest problem.
Teachers had to deal with 80 to 90 students in a classroom when the maximum number per class should be 35 to 40.
He said NCD education could not tell the schools board and management to build infrastructure upwards because there is a certain limit for that.
Lora said a number of schools have made their project proposals on how to address the overcrowding issue.
He said elementary schools had bungalow-type buildings while primary schools were only allowed two-storey buildings.
Lora said most of the schools in NCD were surrounding by developments and it was difficult to expand.
Education Minister Nick Kuman and Secretary Dr Uke Kombra did not respond to questions sent by this paper.