Commission working to restore teachers’ pay

By Rebecca KUKU
THE Teachers Service Commission is working to put back on the payroll as soon as possible the 11,000 teachers who were not paid last fortnight.
Commissioner Baran Sori told The National that the provincial education boards had been directed to work with the payroll section of the Education department in Port Moresby to fix the problem. “Teachers have a role and responsibility to educate our children and I applaud those who are still in the classroom, teaching students despite their suspension from the payroll,” Sori said.
“I sympathise with them and assure them that we are taking steps to ensure they are put back on the payroll as soon as possible.” Sori said there were 60,000 teachers in the country. The auto-suspension problem is caused by their resumption forms not reaching the payroll section in Waigani.
“This year, 11,000 teachers were auto-suspended because their resumption forms did not reach the education department,” he said.
“I urge the provincial education boards to work with our teachers, follow up and get their resumption forms in as soon as possible for the genuine ones who resumed duties on day one.
“For those who said they had already filled their resumption forms but are off the payroll, the PEBs must find out where those resumption forms are and why they did not reach the payroll section.”