Sinebare says graduates being paid

EDUCATION Secretary Dr Musawe Sinebare has brushed aside recent claims by the Papua New Guinea Teachers Association over non-payment for new graduates.
Sinebare in a statement yesterday said it was not factual for PNGTA secretary general to claim last week that more than 1,000 new graduates were yet to be paid.
He said a total of 2,504 new graduates’ names received from the teacher training institutions included 1,867 from primary teachers colleges and 637 from secondary teachers colleges.
He said 2,097 (83.7%) of these teachers had been placed on the payroll and were currently receiving their salaries. 
He said this happened because the department had received teachers’ copies of degree and diploma, provisional registration certificate, teacher record of appointment form and resumption of duty summary sheet.
He said a total of 407 (16.3%) new graduates had yet to be paid because the department yet to receive copies of their documents which is by law, key requirement for any new graduate to be paid.
Sinebare said it was not known whether the remaining 407 graduates had taken up teaching duties at all.
“Regarding re-admission of teachers, the provincial education boards and education authorities are recruiting resigned teachers without obtaining prior approval for re-admission from the Teaching Service Commission of PNG,” he said.
He said that the department by law would not pay any former teachers employed to teaching duties by the provincial education boards without submitting the following documents to payroll and related services branch,  re-admission from Teaching Service Commission, teacher record of appointment form and teacher resumption of duty summary sheet.
He also reminded all provincial education advisers to submit lists of all teachers including new graduates currently teaching via air freighter TNT or through any authorised officers by no later than next Friday.