An elementary school in Imbonggu district of Southern Highlands province has not receive any of the over-orchestrated tuition fee free (TFF) education grants for this year.
The situation has forced teacher in charge (TIC) of Aipunda elementary school, Stanley Umba to spend his own little family pocket money to buy materials for an in-completed double classroom building.
On Tuesday, Sept 6, 2016, Imbonggu district elementary school coordinator, Mary Alkend, who was on a routine inspection learnt of the dire financial situation the school had to put up with.
Just before Alkend arrived at the school, Umba had bargained and bought four pieces of timber for K40 from K48 selling price to continue work on the building.
Umba said so far K16,000 was spent from the 2015 allocation of TTF education funds on the building.
He said more money was needed to complete the interior works including cement flooring, windows, a water tank and other material.
Umba said he had compiled and given the school census data to relevant education officers in Mendi, but did not know why his school has not receive any money at all to date.
School census data is information on enrolment figures and others which determine amounts of TFF education grants given to each school PNG-wide.
Alkend urged the people who were there on the school ground to assist and give free local building materials because it was their school to educate their children.
She said no teacher should be forced such situation to spend his/her family’s little hard-earned cash to build public classrooms and other buildings in schools.
Alkend questioned why education grants destined for many schools in Imbonggu district were not released by the Department of Education head office in Port Moresby.
“This is very serious situation and demands immediate attention from relevant individuals occupying very high position of trust in the department to get their acts together, move and ensure that all schools and teachers get their share of promised education grants and others they are rightly entitled to,” she stressed.
Picture: Aipunda elementary school TIC Stanley Umba holding up one of the four timbers (three on the ground) he bought in front the in-completed double classroom building. From left are teachers Noreen James and Margaret Cornelius and Mary Alkend (right).