Hagen parents want former head to run Tarangau school

By JAMES APA GUMUNO
THE last minute change of the Tarangau Zion Elementary School headmistress in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, has forced parents to keep their children at home.
The biggest elementary school in the city, with a student population of more than 400, is closed for three weeks, with parents demanding the education authority in the province to bring former headmistress Ruth Simon back.
Simon has been transferred to Good Shepherd Elementary.
During a meeting at the school, parents said under the administration of Simon, they saw better management of the school’s funds.
They claimed the board chairman and some of his members collaborated with a senior education authority to transfer Simon to another school so they could bring one of their relatives in as the new head.
More than 70 parents gathered at the school said they found out about the transfer when they went to enrol their children.
They said they were not told about Simon’s transfer during the graduation last year.
The board told the parents it was a city school and it had every right to transfer teachers.
A prominent leader in the province and a parent, Peter Pilamb, said that the elementary school was a community-based school.
He said Simon lived near the school and had managed it well.
Pilamb, who spoke on behalf of the parents, said they did not know why Simon had been transferred and wanted her to return.
He said the parents wanted a headmistress with a good reputation and who had done a lot to the school.
He said the community around the school also did not want anybody else.
A concerned mother, Carol Tony, said the transfer was done in secret without the knowledge of parents.
She said the parents wanted someone who operated transparently.
She said if the authorities in the province did not do anything they would take legal action against the education authority.
The parents donated K10 each and engaged Jerry Tongis’ lawyer to take the matter to court.