TB forces teachers away

 By REBECCA KUKU

A TEACHER in Daru is calling on authorities to address the Tuberculosis outbreak in Western.

The outbreak has forced some teachers to leave the province.

Daru Secondary School teacher Jamie Namorong said the provincial government and the Department of Education must inform the teachers of how they would be affected.  

“What will be done for teachers who contract TB? 

Teachers and students are more vulnerable and at high risk to contract TB,” Namorong said.

“With the free education policy, classrooms are overcrowded, which makes it unsafe for teachers and students with the outbreak of TB in the district. That’s why a good number of teachers and their families have already left.”

Namorong said teachers in the province had given a petition to the Education office last December regarding their concern over the outbreak in the province. But they did not receive any reply from the department. 

He said teachers were losing faith and some had left. 

Health Minister Michael Malabag admitted that TB was a major health issue in Western and the province was struggling to controlling  it.