Teachers’ union wants office for official work

A TEACHERS’ union has called on the National Capital District Commission and Education Department to allocate an office where it can attend to problems from teachers and parents.
Southern Region Teachers’ Association representative Raymond Ray said they were currently using the car park outside the Mutual Rumana building in Port Moresby.
“Teachers cannot be served at the car park,” he said.
The building in Waigani, which used to be occupied by the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, the National Capital District education division and other tenants, had to be vacated because of safety problems.
“The division is part of the Department of Education (it is yet to be decentralised like in other provinces),” he said.
“I call on the governor to intervene.”
No comment could be obtained from National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop yesterday.
Ray said the teachers also asked Parkop to push for the transfer of operational powers from the education department to the division to run its own operation.
“The Education Department has continuously suppressed the functions of the division including addressing issues such as teacher appointments and leave fares,” he said.