Many teachers still unsure of posting

MANY teachers in Madang province have not taken up their postings because they do not know where they would be teaching.
Teachers have been fronting up at the provincial education office since last week to check whether they were given posts that they had applied for.
One primary school teacher claimed that many of them had served loyally in the province but had not been given teaching positions, adding that the authorities were filling in positions with new graduate teachers and recruiting teachers from out of the province to fill the positions.
Among the many frustrated teachers was Michael Kopindu, a primary school teacher who had taught in the remote Rai Coast area for the past five years.
Mr Kopindu said yesterday that he was without a teaching job because the education authorities had not renewed his position at Rai Coast nor had they reassigned him.
Another teacher Augustine Nicky said he was not given a teaching position although he had taught in the province and committed in serving the remote schools.
A woman teacher, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she won a teaching position at one of the schools in the province but when she turned up at the school she was told by the headmaster that the position was not funded.
She was told to go back, leaving her without a teaching position.
Other teachers, who turned up in big numbers, also voiced concern that they were not fairly treated by the authorities.
Meanwhile, new graduates and transferred in teachers claimed that they were still stranded and were waiting to be assisted by the provincial education office to be transported to their new postings.
They said the provincial government should assist them to go to their new schools as there were no other forms of transport except by air to the remote schools as the school academic year started last week.
However, head teacher of Kandum Primary School in Simbai, Middle Ramu district, said he would pay tickets for his teachers because many of the teaching positions at the school were being filled by new graduates.
He said airfares into the area was more than K370 and the provincial government could not assist and so his board of management decided to pay for their fares.
Education authorities when contacted declined to comment saying that they were busy with other important meetings.