A joint raid by the members of the Department of Education and NCD Police led to the arrest of a shop owner involved in the illegal sale of government-issued textbooks.
Reports to the authorities of this illegal activity led to the arrest of the shop owner of trade store Byron Limited yesterday.
The textbooks in question have notices written on them stating they are not for sale. The notices on the textbooks that were retrieved, were sealed.
Speaking after the formal arrest of the shop owner, First Assistant Secretary for Curriculum Development Division, Steven Tandale, emphasized that textbooks for students and teachers issued by the government through the Department of Education are not for sale.
“Textbooks are free issued by the government of Papua New Guinea. They are not supposed to be sold in any shops or on the streets.
“These textbooks that we retrieved have been stolen or taken from us somehow, maybe during distribution of the books to the schools that we don’t know (about),” he said
Tangale urges other shop owners or persons who are illegally selling textbooks to stop this practice, as it is illegal and they can be held accountable.
The department’s Principal Legal Officer, Dominic Maelin, said investigations will continue to identify people who are involved in illegally stealing textbooks and selling them for personal gain.
“When we identify them, we will ask them how they got the books,” he said.
Gordon Police Station Commander, Inspector Gabriel Kini, confirmed that the shop owner was taken to the police station with charges yet to be brought against him.
About 920,000 books were printed and distributed to elementary, primary, and secondary schools in the country. This is to address the one-child one textbook policy.