Need to review education laws

The PNG Teaching Service Commission (TSC) revealed that its absence from the provinces and inability had resulted in abuse and a culture of fraudulent claims, resulting in millions of kina in public money going to waste.

The PNG Teachers Ass­ocia­tion (PNGTA), on the other hand, claimed that the Alesco payroll system employed by the Department of Education to pay the 60,000 teachers in the country was not working in their favour.

These are serious shortcomings in the management of the largest sector of the public service and needs urgent corrective measures.

All key stakeholders – the Teachers Association, Teaching Services Commission and the Department of Education – have each commended Parliament Speaker Theo Zurenuoc for establishing the committee which under, chairman and Wabag MP Robert Ganim, had done what we believe was a comprehensive job. The committee visited Mt Hagen, Goroka, Lae, Madang, Kokopo, and Port Moresby to hear the grievances of teachers. 

For the first time, teachers have spoken directly to a parliamentary committee with some measure of assurance that their conditions would be given sympathetic hearing by none less than members of the legislature so corrective action could be directed from the top.

Ganim has committed his team to getting to the bottom of the issues affecting teachers in their recommendations in its report to Parliament when it meets in May.

The question of conditions of the country’s teaching force remains a perennial issue but pops up specifically at the beginning and end of each school year.

With the start of school, there are always problems of teachers failing to commence on time and completing all paper work to register as having resumed or started in the case of fresh graduates. At the end of the teaching year, or every second year for individual teachers, leave travel arrangements are chaotic at best with teachers missing out and others being forced to wait well into their holidays.  

Other matters such as inspections, promotions, salary adjustments and transfers, among others, continue to affect the efficiency of the teaching service.

In the worst cases, some get struck off the payroll and others get paid for doing nothing because they are not at their designated position and even retrenched teachers are still being paid.  

For some outside of Port Moresby, the issues affecting their careers can only be sorted personally at the TSC, which means high costs of air travel.  Concerns such as these and more have undoubtedly been raised with the committee.

From presentations made at the inquiry there is now a need to review the Teaching Services Act the Education Act. The existing laws have created some confusion and maybe some overlap of functions and could be impediments to the efficient management of the service. 

The TSC is empowered to employ and set conditions only but the salaries and appointments remain the prerogative of the Department of Education.

Presentations by TSC and PNGTA must be form part of any reforms to result from the recommendations by the parliamentary committee.

The TSC is merely an “activity” of the Department of Education without a budget of its own. It has a staff of 28 to deal with 60,000 teachers. 

Obviously, the absence of TSC staff in provinces has given rise to much public money going to waste in fraudulent claims and ineffective monitoring of teaching services.

The PNGTA has called for immediate removal or review of the payroll system.

While long over-due, the parliamentary inquiry into teachers’ conditions, has con­firmed long standing is­­sues facing teachers and uncovered others not widely known and appreciated. 

Legislative loopholes, a lack of manpower at the TSC and an unworkable payroll system appear to be the main concerns raised at the final hearing of the inquiry.  

Any recommendations by the committee and resulting action by Parliament will not only help eliminate abuse and theft but more importantly improve conditions of teachers and ultimately the education system generally.