School needs funding to rollout policy

By PHOEBE GWANGILO
A PRIMARY school in Port Moresby selected by the Education Department to roll out its 1-6-6 policy to enrol grade nine and 10 students next year needs funding support to do so.
“We wrote to Deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil to support us with some funds to build new classrooms for our grade nine and 10 intakes for next year,” Philip Aravure Primary School head teacher Robert Silas told The National on Tuesday.
He said the school’s current capacity could not accommodate the increase in student numbers as well as the need for equipment and materials and staff.
Former education minister Nick Kuman said the 1-6-6 policy was taken onboard by some schools in Port Moresby in 2018 and was expected to take up to five years to reach all the schools in the country.
The change to the new policy was announced in 2017.
Silas said the current state of the school was holding him back from signing the paper work submitted to him by the Education Department. He called on the Government for funding to expand and accommodate additional grades.
Silas said funding from tuition fee free policy was insufficient to manage a school of 3,000 students.
He said the instalments disbursed to the school did not amount to the actual cost of running the school.
The school is currently undergoing other developments such as building of a new school canteen and classroom renovations from its own fundraisings.