Stretching school’s limit

By PETER WARI
LIMITED resources at Muluma Primary School in the Bosave local level government of Southern Highlands will not stop head teacher Ibini Tindipe from enrolling students from other schools.
Tindipe told The National in Mendi yesterday that Fugumaiyu, Musula, Lake Campel and Bosave in Southern Highlands and Walagu, Huiya and Dodomona Primary schools in Hela were shut temporarily and students were overcrowding his school.
He said he would not hesitate to enrol students from other primary schools because it was their right in Bosave, where only few students entered secondary and tertiary institutions.
“The school’s enrolment last year was more than 400 and I believe this number will double,” Tindipe said.
“We do not have enough classrooms, teachers and stationery.
“I have instructed my five teachers to make sure former students at the school were given priority, then enrol them even if the classroom is filled to its capacity.”
Tindipe said there were only three cartons of exercise books left and he had purchased stationery in Mt Hagen and was waiting for the Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) to resume its flight after the Covid-19 lockdown.
He said it cost K600 per person and K6 per kilo to transport stationery and he estimated that it would cost the school more than K10,000.
“Last Christmas Nipa-Kutubu MP Jeffery Komal funded the school with K150,000 to improve infrastructure and I have used the money to purchase building materials.
“To transport these materials by helicopter, it costs K17,400.
“They will be building a double classroom with a library and a teacher’s house.”
Tindipe said funds for the school that should be used to improve infrastructures were mostly spent on transporting school stationery and materials and it was one of the challenges every head teacher in the LLG faced.