Tubal: No schools on Matupit

THE East New Britain administration has maintained that there will be no reopening of schools on Matupit Island.
Provincial administrator Akuila Tubal, in a statement, said the administration would not entertain calls to reopen schools on the island to cater for children whose parents had remained stubborn on relocating.
He called on acting Education secretary Dr Joseph Pagelio and regional education adviser Anthony Tsora to pay more attention on national institutions rather than on provincial matters that  were a responsibility of the provincial education board (PEB).
He said one such case was the rehabilitation of Kerevat National High School, which was awarded a K7 million maintenance programme that had never been completed.
Tubal stated that, as the chairman of the PEB, there would be no schools to be reopened on the island and people of Matupit should acknowledge and respect concerted efforts put together by provincial authorities to ensure that people had access to proper infrastructural developments.
He said all schools in ENB, from elementary to secondary,  were the responsibilities of the PEB and national agency concerns would only be addressed by the national department.
Tubal stressed that his administration was working tirelessly to restore vital services to resettlement areas only to be let down by certain individuals who wanted to attack the public service machinery in ENB.
He expressed disappointment at the Matupit people’s lack of cooperation with provincial authorities to ensure that children were secured in their new schools built in the resettlement at Sikut.
Tubal called on leaders to work together with the people to move away from the risks of Mt Tavurvur so that children could have better access to education.