K100,000 to boost Menyamya school status

National, Normal
Source:

The National,Wednesday18 January 2012

By PISAI GUMAR
TOURISM and Culture Minister and Menyamya MP Benjamin Philip has allocated his local high school K100,000 through a development grant to help upgrade it to a secondary school this year.
“However, the money is not enough to build the required facilities to earn her secondary school status,” school board chairman Elijah Isa said.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and Morobe Governor Luther Wenge said on Oct 23 last year Menyamya High School would become a secondary school this year.
But the institution still needs chemistry, biology and computer laboratories, a 60kva generator, five staff houses, a girls’ dormitory and an ablution block.
The school’s student intake would increase from 524 to 600 and the Teaching Service Commission has approved a staff increase from 17 to 25 for this year.
“But to have in place all required teaching and learning facilities, it will cost K2.4 million in total, which was the package submitted to O’Neill,” Isa said.
He said the provincial government, in its budget appropriation last year, allocated K1 million to improve the school facilities.
However, the school board, teachers, parents and students have been left in dark without any further word from O’Neill and Wenge as the new academic year begins on Feb 6.
“Without electricity supply connected to school or a generator, students’ night study schedules were affected,” Isa said.
Teachers had suffered eyesight problems through using candles and lanterns in the night.
“Most students use candles and hurricane lanterns for studies,” Isa said.
He said the K100,000 would be used to buy 12 Tuffa tanks for water catchment and installed at the teachers’ houses.
Transporting material from Lae to Menyamya is affected by bad condition between Oiwa to Langema junction.