Teachers in the remote areas of Papua New Guinea for the first time will be paid an annual salary allowance starting this year.
The allowance is part of the 3 per cent increment payment but will be paid annually.
PNG Teachers Association (PNGTA) Vice President Shenell Kou said the allowance has been broken down into three categories - Remote, Very Remote and Extreme Remote.
“Teachers who are teaching in the extremely remote areas will be paid K7,000. Teachers teaching in very remote areas will be paid K6,000 and the teachers teaching in remote areas will be paid K5,000,” Kou said.
Kou said teachers who fall under these categories must visit their provincial headquarters at the end of the teaching year to claim their allowance.
“The payment is included in the 3 per cent increment payment which will be processed on April 2024,” he said.
Kou said the administrative structure of how this payment will be implemented is for the provinces to decide on.
“So the twenty-two provinces will have to identify which school comes under remote, which school comes under very remote and which school comes under extreme remote. The allowance of each teacher in those schools will be paid accordingly,” he said.
The Vice President added that the allowance applies to both husband and wife who are teaching in remote schools.