Teachers in ESP want appointment put in order

TEACHERS in East Sepik say oversight by the provincial education officers caused their auto-suspensions.
Head teacher for Mongniol Primary School Clement Walama, whose 16 teachers had been put off pay last Wednesday, told The National yesterday that despite all his 32 teachers filling their duty resumption forms on time, it was a pity that half of them were put off pay.
“It is simply the oversight by provincial administration that has caused half of my staff members going off pay, and I believe that also was the case for the other affected teachers in East Sepik,” Walama said.
He said teacher appointments in East Sepik were not in order, calling on the provincial administration to put things in order.
“We do not have fixed appointments,” he said.
“The provincial education office needs to be fixed so that such high numbers of hardworking teachers would not be affected in future.”
Walama said families of those teachers put off pay would be affected big time, especially when they were teaching in urban centres where everything depended on money.
For instance, his school which lay in the heart of Wewak town, had many of those teachers living with relatives in town and were now off pay.
“It was causing them much stress as a result,” he said.
“Imagine where they would get food from to feed their families and pay for some rented houses in town and for other needs.
“It is just unbearable, and I am therefore calling on the authorities on behalf of them to remedy this situation urgently.
“They have all filled the forms that also bears my signature as the head of the school.”
Maprik Secondary School deputy principal Alfred Akai said his school had two teachers suspended from pay despite filling in their duty resumption forms, and Mercy Secondary reported three affected teachers.
Meanwhile, Stanly Kuri, a primary school teacher from the Highlands region teaching in Yule Island, Central and who was put off pay, has moved with his family to Port Moresby as students could not bring food for his family.
James Paraka of Hagen Park Secondary School, said appointment queries in the province had caused them to be put off pay.