Teachers still awaiting allowances

TEN teachers from a remote primary school in the border region of Imbonggu, Mendi and Nipa-Kutubu districts in Southern Highlands have not been paid their disadvantage allowances for almost two years.
Milwerip Primary School headmaster Samson Johannes said these teachers had not received their disadvantage allowances for 2015 and this year.
Johannes said the situation resulted from an incorrect classification of the school. Milwerip Primary School’s code number is 056 and should have been listed as a disadvantaged school but was not.
He said this was because another school, Pinz Primary School, Code number 159, was also wrongly classified under disadvantaged area.
He said Milwerip should be in the disadvantaged area and not Pinz.
Johannes said his teachers were missing out on disadvantage allowances because of the confusion caused by the Teaching Services Commission (TSC).
He said Pinz was not a disadvantaged school because it was near an existing road and other services.
He said to reach Milwerip, one had to walk 10 kilometres down a mountain, cross the fast-flowing Lai River and climb another mountain.
There are no basic government services such as roads, health centres or vital telecommunication services.
Johannes called on relevant education authorities in the Southern Highlands and Port Moresby.