Teachers still attending classes despite no pay

By JAMES GUMUNO
SEVEN teachers who have been taken off the government payroll are still turning up to work because children’s education is important to them.
The seven from Hagen Tee Primary School in Western Highlands are among the 11,000 teachers who did not receive their fortnight pay last Wednesday.
The Education Department pay office in Port Moresby which processes teachers’ fortnightly wages is yet to receive the resumption of duty forms needed to confirm that they are back working after the Christmas holidays.
The teachers said during a meeting with headmaster David Numbaming the education of children was important to them.
They said they had filled in their resumption duty forms at the beginning of the year, which education officers were to forward to the pay office in Waigani.
Numbaming said the seven wanted to continue coming to classes.
Many of the teachers live outside the school compound and travel to school each day.
He urged officers at the salaries section to quickly fix the pay blunder.
“Teachers need money for bus fares, lunch and other needs,” he said.
“The Government is giving priority to education. But how do you expect teachers to provide quality education if they are treated this way?”
The school has 2400 students with some classes having 60 students.
Meanwhile, provincial administrator Joseph Neng advised the seven teachers and others from the province who did not get paid last week to see the officer in charge of the salary section in the province to rectify the problem.