Delay in entitlements frustrates teachers

By GLORIA BAUAI and JINA AMBA
TEACHERS in Morobe are complaining about the slow progress in the processing of their leave fare entitlements as they want to travel home for Christmas.
Salome Sangi, the deputy head teacher at Huonville Primary School, said the process has been made more difficult in recent years.
Sangi, who was with teachers outside the provincial education office since last week, said the process should revert to the system where leave fares were paid directly into teachers’ bank accounts.
“They usually pay us in the last week of school in December,” she said.
She said teachers had already missed two weeks of the holidays.
“Some of us are from remote villages and at this rate, we won’t be able to celebrate Christmas with our families back home,” Sangi said.
Den Esika, a teacher from Kabwum Primary School, said it was expensive to live in town while waiting for the leave fare entitlements.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Jimmy Uguro urged provincial governments to pay teachers leave fares quickly.
He said the Education Department was not responsible for processing teachers’ leave fares but the provincial governments.