Morobe warns teachers against sexual abuse of children

ANY teacher caught in the act of abusing children sexually in schools in Morobe will face immediate termination and criminal charges, says provincial education adviser Keith Jiram yesterday.
He said teaching was a noble profession and should be protected with the intention to deliver education to vulnerable children whom the parents had entrusted to teachers. “Children are with us most of the times and they see us as their parents, so we must play a parental role to ensure that students have a brighter future that they deserve,” he said.
Jiram said there was a big break-down in the society and what happened reflected the kind of society that we were in at the moment.
He was referring to an incident that happened two weeks ago in which a 10-year-old student in a private-run school in Lae being sexually abused by a teacher.
Jiram said certain acts in the law should be amended to cater for the changing society and “trend that we faced now”.
He said Acts like the Lukautim Pikinini Act, Education Act, Human Rights Act and others should be amended to cater for such actions by people towards children
“This can then tell the whole world that PNG can look after its citizens well,” he said.
Jiram said actions of a few teachers were disgraceful and it was destroying the reputation and the integrity of the education system.
“This goes a long way to destroy the trust and the confidence.”