Primary school changing status

By JUNIOR UKAHA
Yalumet Primary School in Kabwum, Morobe, will be converted into a boarding high school.
This follows a groundbreaking ceremony recently held at the school.
Kabwum MP Patrick Basa, Tewai-Siassi MP Kobby Bomario and provincial education adviser Keith Jiram officiated at the ceremony.
The school is located at Yalumet Station at ward three of the Deyamos local level government.
The K500,000 upgrading project will see the construction of a four-in-one double-storey classroom, two teachers’ houses, a dormitory, library and laboratory.
The money will come from the district services improvement programme fund.
Basa and his family, as their contribution to the new high school, will fund the mess and kitchen for the students.
Work on the project is expected to be completed at the end of this year, with the first intake of students next year.
Basa, who is also the Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources, said access to quality education was one of his development priorities.
He said Kabwum district development authority aims to build four high schools in each of the four local level government areas.
“Kabwum High School in Derim will be elevated to secondary school status,” Basa said.
“District administration has already made payment to a company for materials to be shipped down to Wasu and transported to the district headquarters before being airlifted to the proposed location.”
Jiram said the Education Department had approved eight new high schools around the country, with two in Kabwum.
He said the Morobe government had also embarked on building high schools in each of its nine districts.
Jiram praised the Kabwum DDA for taking the lead in the building of high schools in the district.