Education Secretary

This week, during the official opening of the new four-in-one classroom for Tudungan Primary School in Toma, Gazelle District, Dr Kombra was full of praise for the district in supporting education which was built at a cost of K500, 000 funded under the District Services Improvement Program (DSIP) funds.

Dr Kombra said the Education Department has many policies and the need for better classrooms for students and quality education from Grade 1 to 12 is one of them.

Education Secretary, Dr Uke Kombra, made this statement when directing all institutions operating within the national education system to resume classes on Monday, April 19^th.

He said the COVID-19 protocols that must be adhered to at all times include the wearing of masks by students, teachers and ancillary staff at all times.

“Schools are encouraged to maintain social distancing at all times and hand sanitisers or hand washing facilities must be provided at the school gates and also in the staff rooms.”

Secretary Kombra said data entry of teachers’ Resumption of Duty Summary Sheets (RoDSS) was supposed to happen last week but with the shutdown of services, the data entry of remaining RoDSS on hand is now affected, thus has been deferred to pay#8, paydate 23rd April.

“Auto-suspension or automated suspension happens when the system (ALESCO payroll) suspends teachers when their resumption of duty form is not registered in the system. This is a normal process that falls around this time of the year.

This follows the Education Department’s vetting of graduates where it was established that a large number from Balob did not meet the entry requirements.

A circular dated January 25^th was released from the Education Secretary’s office regarding the decision on 2019 graduates from teacher training institutions.

In the circular, the minimum grade point average, or GPA, for entry was outlined for heads of institutions to follow.

Dr Kombra said the implementation of the 2019 Consumer Price Index (CPI) for teachers ceased on pay number 14.

“The 2019 back pay, which consisted of two fortnights’ back pay was spread over 12 fortnights starting on pay number 2 this year,” he said in a statement.

In April this year, a media statement was released by Education Minister, Joseph Yopyyopy, to clarify a lot of queries that were raised around teachers’ salary suspension and salary cuts.

This payment is Batch 1 of Payment 1 and will benefit schools in all sectors of education in the National Education System.

The Secretary has advised school boards and administrators to use the Government Tuition Fee Subsidy (GTFS) payments to support education in emergency and WaSH programs at all schools, including vocational and inclusive education centres in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The awards were given out by Education Secretary, Dr Uke Kombra, to the principals of the respective schools in Port Moresby.

The secretary’s awards are given out to recognize the students and schools that perform highly during an academic year.

“A few years ago we have decided that we must recognize the students and schools that are performing and are working very hard,” stated Dr Kombra.

“This is the third year running that we are going to recognize the schools that have been working very hard to achieve better results for the students.

News of the brutal killing of Central woman, Grace Gavera, who was an employee of the Education Department, went viral on social media, after she was allegedly beaten to death at Erima on Saturday by her partner.

Dr Kombra said it was unfortunate that the Department is observing the 16 Days of Activism Against ‘Gender Based Violence and Human Rights Campaign’, which runs from November 25 to December 10, when this hideous incident took place.

Students will commence classes a week later on Monday, January 29.

Education Secretary, Dr Uke Kombra, says once the teachers resume duties, they will be required to report to their principal, head teacher or manager to confirm that they have been posted to the school by the National Education Board or the Provincial Education Board.

Dr Kombra urges all teachers and new graduates to remember to complete the Resumption of Duty Summary Sheet or RODSS, and Teacher Record of Appointment and other relevant documents.

The exams start today (October 9) to Friday, October 13, 2017.

These students are from 302 high and secondary schools throughout the country.

Out of this number of schools, 170 are high schools with classes up to Grade 10 only.

The students will be sitting for a total of 12 subjects.

Education Secretary Dr Uke Kombra said this examination is very important for the students because they contribute to their final assessments for the year.