Teachers want Kuman, Kumbra sacked

 By JAMES APA GUMUNO  

PAPUA New Guinea Teachers Association’s Highlands regional office is calling on Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to sack the Education minister and his secretary for misleading schools, parents and students over the tuition fee-free funds.

Regional secretary John Melson, representing about 18,000 teachers in the region, told The National yesterday that Minister Nick Kuman and Dr Uke Kombra must be sacked immediately.

The PNGTA supported the earlier call by Member for Sumkar Ken Weather on the same matter.

Melon said Kuman and Dr Kombra should not force teachers in the region to teach without releasing the TFF funds on time into the respective accounts of the schools.

“How can the minister and his secretary go to the media saying all TFF money was going into the bank accounts when nothing goes into the accounts of the schools,” he said.

He visited five provinces including Chimbu, Jiwaka, Western Highlands and Southern Highlands to check on the TFF funds.  The schools he visited were still waiting for the fourth quarter funds from last year and the first quarter funds for this year.

Melson said academic year was supposed to start this week but because of the delay in releasing the funds, there were no proper classes as the schools were waiting for the funds  to buy teaching materials. 

“How can the minister and his secretary tell the parents to pay project fees and after a day or two, they change their minds and tell schools not to charge fees pending a National Executive Council’s decision?” he said.

Melson said this was causing confusion and frustration among the parents, teachers and schools.

“Indirectly, the Government is trying to put more pressure on teachers over this project fees because of the confusion they created but it can’t work out that way,” he said.

He said the PNGTA wanted a new minister and secretary to come in and fix the problem and allow the academic year to start immediately in the Highlands.

Mark Sakol, headmaster of Wabag Primary School, one of the biggest in Enga, told The National yesterday that last year, the school borrowed money for its graduation because they did not receive their last quarter funds like all other schools.

Sakol said this year, Kuman said the Government had deposited last year’s fourth quarter TFF funds and first quarter funds of this year into the school accounts. However, he said it was not true as there was no money in his school’s account.

Sakol said proper classes would start as soon as they received their operating funds.