Maru stands by policy

ABOLISHING tuition fee free (TFF) policy will kill the future of children of this country, a former government minister says.
Yangoru-Saussia MP Richard Maru, who was the Minister of National Planning and Monitoring until recently, said he would not support any government that wanted to abolish the TFF policy because every child had the right to education.
He said a child’s right to education was a basic human right that should never be denied for any other service.
Speaking at the opening of a four-in-one classroom at Kusambuk Junior High School on Monday, Maru said the TFF implementation had increased student enrolment from 50 per cent in 2012 to 90 per cent in 2018.
Maru said in 2012, 50 per cent of school-aged children were not going to school.
The Kusambuk classroom cost about K480,000.
“Economic affordability and physical accessibility was a big challenge, particularly for parents and children in rural PNG,” Maru said.
“In 2012, 50 per cent of girls in PNG did not attend school because parents invested their limited resources in boys.”
Maru said he wanted the Government to continue the TFF policy and enhance quality administration.
He said every MP should support the policy by building educational infrastructure from their district services improvement programme funds.
He said decline in the quality of education as a result of increased enrolment, inadequate education infrastructure and teaching quality were among challenges the nation faced. Next year, Yangoru-Saussia will have three secondary schools –Kubilia, Yangoru and Nagum.