Parkop to beef up schools

A NEW system of buying school materials has been introduced in elementary schools in the National Capital District.
At its launch at the Bavaroko Primary School in Port Moresby yesterday by NCD Governor Powes Parkop, in conjunction with suppliers Treid Pacific (PNG) Ltd, or Treid Print, the fee-free elementary education and implementation of the cash-commodity joint monitoring initiative is aimed at preventing misappropriation of funds in schools and assisting their management properly acquit and provide financial and other records.
Mr Parkop was hopeful that the initiative will ensure schools begin classes on time and not, say, a month later.
He said elementary schools would be used to pilot the initiative and, if successful, it would then be implemented in all primary, secondary and vocational schools in the capital.
Treid Print is a Port Moresby-based company specialising in the printing and distribution of school materials nationwide.
Mr Parkop explained that although the management and responsibility of a school lies with the NCD education board, he had involved himself to ensure the initiative’s key outcomes were achieved so that children could have a better and secured future.
“The National Government gives education a lot of money in subsidies.
“This year, K153 million in subsidies are going to all the schools in the country. It shows that our Government is committed to invest in education,” Mr Parkop said.
He said past experiences had shown that much of these monies most often did not go into buying the needed materials, resulting in parents having to buy their children’s books and pencils.
He said the new system would take that responsibility away from the parents and ensure all children receive the best education.
“It comes down to us as managers to see how we can ensure the money goes where it needs to go and we achieve our plans.
“The money we will receive is public money and I appeal to all of us to use it to help our children get a good education.
“When they do not do well, they come back to society and become our responsibility. So we need to make sure that we provide a better and secured future for our children,” Mr Parkop said.
The outcome of this universal basic education goes one step to achieving the second millennium development goal of achieving universal primary education.