Dept’s decision affecting students

THE National on June 2 published a front page and page 3 headlines about the de-registration of elementary school teachers in the country.
While it is the Education Department’s prerogative to carry out this action, it would have been wiser to implement this exercise through stages after proper evaluations so as not to affect schools as it is in the middle of the school year.
We are not aware of other elementary schools who are facing this problem, but we have only three teachers and all three have been de-registered since pay 8.
With 164 children enrolled this year, you can imagine the chaos caused by the department’s actions.
Chimbu’s education division cannot find replacements for these de-registered teachers.
These teachers’ names were not even on the list of teachers who are to be terminated.
While this is going on, we are fighting the biggest battle – how do we save this schooling year for the innocent 164 little children who will suffer as their teachers have been removed from their classrooms in the middle of the school year?
Should we just accept the disruption to their learning as collateral damage and label this schooling year as a failed year?
Did the vetting exercise consider such repercussions and draw up plans to handle them?
The parents, management, community members and stakeholders are very concerned about the education of our children.
Just as other children in other schools in the county, they are citizens of this country and have the right to be educated by the Education Department, which exists for this purpose.
We suggest that the following be considered by the Education minister and secretary:

• REINSTATE teachers and put them back on payroll so they can continue to teach up to the end of the year; or,
•  PROVIDE three teachers to replace the de-registered ones to continue teaching our children.

Our school is the best performing elementary school in the Tabare local level government of Sinasina-Yongomugl and we take pride in producing the best Grade 2 students for our Dinima Primary School.
We may be just another elementary school with just another 164 children, but we are still part of this country and our children are entitled to their basic rights to receive education.
The Corvid-19 pandemic has caused enough disruptions to our school calendar since last year and this untimely exercise means disaster for our school year if nothing is done quickly by the education authorities.
We appeal also to our MP Kerenga Kua and Governor Michael Dua to take this matter up with Education Minister Jimmy Uguro to postpone the deregistration exercise to the end of this year.
If that cannot be done, please consider the possibility of funding the teachers’ wages under the district and province services improvement programme funds on casual wage rates up to the end of the year. We’ve attached copies of relevant correspondence regarding this matter with the education authorities to at least save our school.
What has transpired so far appears only to address a prevailing in-house problem within the Education Department.
It does not take into consideration the interest of our children and the disastrous effect it can have on their school year.
We cannot justify just closing up the school for this year and tell them to come back next year when teachers become available.
The fact remains – no teachers mean no school.
We are desperate to save this schooling year and any assistance from the Education Department and our parliamentarians would be very much appreciated.
We are serious and are preparing a petition to be presented to the education authorities in Chimbu.
I am asking on behalf of all the children, parents, board of management, community members, stakeholders and the clans of the Tabare Mileku tribe of Tabare local level government.

Ps Mek – BOM Chairman,
Yandi Elementary School