Officer: No subsidy for 300 schools

 By DOROTHY MARK

MORE than 300 primary schools in Madang are yet to receive their tuition-free subsidies for 2012 and 2013.

Statistics officer at the Madang education office Boniface Rukain revealed this yesterday when an angry chairman of an affected primary school stormed into his office and demanded an explanation.

Rukain said school subsidies were handled by the education office in Port Moresby and not the Madang office.

“Some schools are beginning to receive their subsidies so I think all others are in the pipeline to receive theirs,” Rukain said.

Chairman of the St Peters Murukanam Primary School in Madang Mark Arek said his school missed out last year and this year as well.

“The last time the school got a subsidy from the government was in 2011.

“A total of K18,000 was given and that money has been used up on school materials,” Arek said.

He said parents already knew about the government’s free education policy and were reluctant to pay projects fees.

Arek said the school had submitted all necessary information to the education department through its Madang office.

“We are planning to shut the school because we can’t operate any further. 

“We have been operating from scraps for the last two years,” Arek said.

He said St Peter’s Murukanam Primary School came under the Catholic agency but it could not get help from there as well.

Attempts to get a response from the director of Catholic education agency were not successful.

Rukain said St Peter’s Primary School was one of the 300 yet to receive their subsidies and he would be liaising with the Port Moresby office to fast-track the payments.