Teachers’ fares set

By JUNIOR UKAHA
THE Central government has put aside K2.1 million to pay teachers’ leave fares for term four.
Central education adviser Titus Hatagan said tickets for those teachers who applied for leave were ready and they should check the provincial education office for their tickets today.
However, Hatagan said in the past, some teachers had “falsely named extra dependants” and claimed tickets that they later sold or gave to other people.
“We are thinking about referring teachers doing this to the police fraud squad.
“Only genuine dependants are eligible for tickets,” he said.
He said schools in the province would close this week and most teachers were expected to fly out in the next two to three weeks.
Hatagan said last year, K1.9 million had been spent on travel fares but it had increased this year because many teachers wanted to travel home to be with their families.
He said unlike in the past, teachers in the province would know of their new postings this week before they left as the postings list had already being finalised.
“I welcome 200 new teachers who will join the province’s 2,600-plus teachers,” he said.
“With your diploma, the level of teaching and learning in the province can further improve.”
Hatagan said grade eight certificates and placements would be delayed for sometime as the new secretary for education, Dr Musawe Sinebare, had yet to sign them.
He said the delay did not mean students would not know their gradings and marks as the provincial education office would
apply the local examination processing and results development systems to process the students’ data.