Counting in Wabag affects classes

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Thursday July 19th, 2012

By YVONNE HAIP
STUDENTS attending Wabag Primary School in Enga are unable to attend classes because their school is the vote counting venue.
Classes have been suspended for an indefinite period, with students expected to return when counting is completed.
Most classrooms are being used for counting.
Students in other schools have resumed classes.
Counting officials have been spitting betelnut juice through the classroom windows, staining the area around the classrooms.
Most teachers at the school and their families are benefiting from the counting by setting up small betelnut and cigarette stalls.
They sell a can of soft drink for K5 as well as hot meals to security personnel.
In Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, students are affected by counting as the start of term three has been delayed.
Students were told to attend classes last Monday but they arrived to find no teachers there.
While some schools have started, others are yet to begin because the teachers are involved in the counting process.
A concerned parent, Regina Kerowa said education was a vital part in nation-building.
She was unhappy that her children and their classmates had to stay at home because the teachers were not in the classrooms.
“Politics and the elections come once in a while and teachers should be in the classrooms ready to teach, and not get tangled in politics,” she said.
Parents are now calling on the provincial education department to explain why the resumption of classes is delayed.