School seeks funds to fix rundown facilities

Education

THE Immanuel Lutheran School, a flexible open distance education (Fode) centre in Lae, wants to fix all its run-down infrastructure but lacks funding, says principal Yatu Idauman.
It was established in 1979 as a college of external studies to cater for grade 6 graduates. It later became a College of Distance Education enrolling Grade Nine and 10 students.
Idauman who has been teaching there since 1995 said the school has been surviving on tuition fees. “We rely on fees from students. From our own funds, we have constructed a duplex which will cater for two staff in 2019,” he said.
“We renovated the old chapel building and turned it into a double classroom and new computer laboratory.
“The building is yet to be completed. We have replaced broken walls and fixed the school’s power supply.
“We can only do what we are able to do, which very much, depends on school fee payments by our students.”
With a student roll of 270 this year and increasing, Idauman said there were no proper classrooms, science and computer laboratories, printing office and library.
“Despite the lack of funding and financial support, we still managed to pay for teachers’ salaries and basic school supplies,” he said.
“70 to 80 per cent of school fees go to our teachers’ salaries.”