Subsidy cheque for Ramu school missing

A LOCAL primary school in the Middle-Ramu electorate faces closure after its second quarter subsidy cheque of K7,448 went missing a month ago.
Chungribu Primary School board chairman Paul Singi and assistant Unkolwara Nenggai said they found out about the missing cheque after arriving in town on Tuesday to buy building materials for the school.
Singi said most schools in the electorate faced similar problems.
“This is a serious matter and those responsible must be severely punished,” he said.
“Such corrupt practices are illegal and should not have happened in the first place. We are concerned that the rights of the students are being deprived,” he said.
He said the provincial education board must fast-track investigations to recover the missing cheques.
He urged that the provincial education board to look into the matter and deal with those responsible.
“Relevant line agencies must address this issue,” Singi said.
He said the Kaironk primary school in the Simbai LLG faced a similar situation.
“We are facing shortfalls in our school budget and the trip into town was to purchase much needed building materials and stationery,” he said.
The building material was to complete a teacher’s house in the area.
Singi said this could interrupt classes by forcing the board of management to close the school before the end of the year.
“Our grade eight students will miss out on a proper graduation if the cheque is not recovered. This will clearly break the trust and confidence of the parents and students,” Singi said.
Head teacher Freddy Timendi they had been stranded and unable to pay their way back to Ramu.
“It takes us almost three days to travel into town and back. And such operational costs involved in running schools especially in remote areas are very expensive,” Timendi said.
It is understood a request has already been put forward to the provincial government to help the school.