PNGTA decries no-pay directives

THE Papua New Guinea Teachers Association has decried the continuous failure to properly administer teachers resumption  by provincial authorities.
PNGTA national general-secretary Ugwalubu Mowana said the instructions from Education Secretary Dr Joseph Pagelio this week for 6,391 teachers to be put off the payroll tomorrow only demonstrates the lack of administration by the department and its provincial authorities.
“The PNGTA is concerned because experience shows that teachers do resume duty on time  . . . before the end of February,” Mr Mowana said.
In a press conference at the PNGTA office in Port Moresby yesterday, Mr Mowana said that apart from those  who had resigned, all teachers should be maintained on payroll whether they were on study or in pool.
He said PNGTA was also concerned that the provincial education divisions did not appoint teachers on the vacancies in the provinces and denied them their pay.
“The teachers in the so-called pool should not be put off the payroll.
“They are professional  and so are State subjects and should be on payroll,” Mr Mowana said.     
He called on the Education secretary and the chairman of Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to maintain all the teachers on payroll except those who had resigned or  declared deceased.
He said that the teachers would be affected once they were put off payroll.
Mr Mowana described the announcement made by Dr Pagelio as a “slap in the face” on teachers.
Mr Mowana pointed out that teachers were located in various parts of the country including remote areas, and some would be shocked when they arrive in the city to collect their pay.
“The Education Department and TSC must be mindful of the fact that many teachers are serving in different communities outside of their home provinces and putting them off the payroll makes teachers’ lives and that of their families difficult,” Mr Mowana said.
He also made calls for Dr Pagelio to ensure responsible officers in the provinces to submit all summary sheets to Waigani this week.
He added that the continuous actions to put teachers off the payroll for non-submission of resumption forms demonstrated that mechanisms in place that administer the resumption were “cumbersome and unpractical”.
“It has been 10 years since teachers are put off the payroll because the provincial officers failed to submit summary sheets on teachers’ resumption forms,” Mr Mowana added.