Subsidy cut, school halts work

THE Dregerhafen Secondary School is unable to carry on with its infrastructure development following a cut in the Government tuition fee subsidy, chairman Bussim Stoessel says.
“The development, implemented by the late Sir Jerry Kasip Nalau, is thus stalled,” he said.
Stoessel, who took over from the late Sir Jerry in 2017 as school board chairman, told The National that the troubling financial hard times and other problems had stalled all development plans for the school.
He said the school had produced leaders such as the late Sir Jerry and late Grand Chief Sir Michael Thomas Somare.
“In early 1972, the first high school was established and between 2006/07 under the chairmanship of the late Sir Jerry, the schools submission was approved to become secondary school and enrolled between 1,300 and 1,500 students,” he said.
“We have done as much as we can. The new board of governing council had identified problems and notified the appropriate departments, Morobe government, the Finschhafen development authority (FDDA) and national departments that Dregerhafen is in dire of help to develop the infrastructure to help the children of Finschhafen and Morobe.
“All the big classrooms in the school are those of Sir Jerry’s contribution to the Dregerhafen and he had contributed so much to the school.
“I appeal to everyone for help.
“We need specialised classrooms to help the students, like a science laboratory, a library, Grade 10 English and Mathematics classrooms.
“The classrooms were burned down in 2018, so we need really need help.”
He said the school had received some help from the Morobe government, the FDDA and MP Rainbo Paita but “we need more to build the classrooms”.