Govt asked to consult church agency in decision-making

MOUNT Hagen Catholic Archbishop Douglas Young says the church must not be considered a service provider but an equal partner with the Government.
He said church and government must work together as partners in the delivery education services.
Young said most times government did not recognise the church as a partner and did things without consultation, which caused inconveniences in the appointments of teachers and selection of students.
He said this when clarifying confusions over teacher appointments and selection of students into grades 9 and 11.
“The provincial education board and the Catholic Church Education Agency are equal decision-makers in the selection and appointment processes as constituted in a memorandum of agreement and the National Education Act,” he said.
“For example, in Jiwaka, where the Catholic Church Education Agency provides one third of all education services, a MoA was signed with the provincial education board (PEB).
“The purpose of this MoA is to ensure a high level of cooperative partnership in the delivery of elementary, community, primary, high, TVET, and secondary school education in Jiwaka.”
Young said the PEB was requesting that the Catholic Church Education Agency take a bigger role in education in the province but the grant in aid from the national Government to assist the Diocesan Catholic Education Board (DCEB) in its administration of its schools was totally inadequate.
“There has been a history of PEB and its committees not respecting or abiding by previous agreements and understandings, particularly concerning appointments of teachers and selection of students,” he said.
“The effectiveness of a Catholic school requires the preservation of a distinctive Catholic identity.”