Malaguna High gains higher status

By ELIZABETH VUVU
MALAGUNA Technical High School in Rabaul is preparing to take on a new status, according to national education departmental advisers.
Last week, first assistant secretary policy planning, John Josephs and first assistant secretary learning and teaching Dr Michael Tapo inspected the school facilities and met with principal Evah Magaga and board members to confirm preparations for the transition.
The purpose of the team’s visit to the school was to confirm its preparations for a change of status from technical high school to technical secondary school.
Pioneer Grade 11 students were also addressed by the officials and later a meeting was convened to discuss their findings and also to discuss requests for the reclassification of teaching positions at the school.
Josephs was satisfied at the ground works and commended Magaga for her vision in developing the school.
He said he was impressed to see a female principal thinking like her male counterparts in a technical institution including the Rabaul district administration for their commitment in infrastructure development at the school.
Josephs emphasised that the institution had technical facilities necessary for its purposes despite their condition due to their nature of the environment, unlike other institutions in the country who regarded themselves as technical secondary schools.
He added that the school could be a role model in the country if all stakeholders worked together to improve both the academic and technical features of the school.
Due to the uniqueness of the school, the board was vying for an extra ordinary structure which would consist of a principal on level nine and three deputies on level seven.
The school currently provided different kinds of technical courses including short courses and one year courses beside the flexible open distance education classes and normal lower secondary grades.
Magaga said the technical faculty was a programme which catered for a variety of students and also required specialty instructors for the technical courses thus requiring a deputy of its own.
“The technical department has its own requirements in terms of tools, equipment, machinery and staff and would be convenient to have its own deputy to cater for the needs of the department.”
The school is currently preparing a submission to the teaching services commission to request for the endorsement of the proposed staff structure to coincide with the reclassification of teaching positions for the school.