More junior high schools planned for Morobe: Official

MOROBE Governor Luther Wenge has assured his support to the provincial education division to establish more junior high schools in the province.
Provincial Education Department senior programme adviser Berry Karlo said a high number of Grade Eight students, who were eligible to do Grade Nine at various high and secondary schools has been noticed.
Karlo explained that the issues of limited classrooms, dormitories and mess buildings were faced by every school and that was the biggest concern in the education sector.
According to him, the provincial education division was aware of the issue of classroom shortages and overcrowding and so decided to come up with a draft plan to convert some of the primary schools to junior high.
The conversion was to minimise enrolment that catered for high and secondary schools.
Provincial education adviser Keith Tangui has been vocal about the establishments of junior high schools.
Wenge said it was a provincial concern which his government supported.
Meanwhile, Karlo thanked Wenge and his administration for funding high and secondary schools along with vocational training institutes under the school infrastructure development grants.
He added that through the initiative, there would be a good number of projects established in each school.
The school infrastructure development grant was initiated under the leadership of former governor Ginson Saonu in 2020, and was continued and funded under the current regime.
In 2022, about 21 schools were given more than K5 million to build school projects, of which about 98 per cent were completed and ready for use.
The 2023 batch would start the projects this year because they received funding late last year.