by Bridgette Komatep – EM TV, Port Moresby
While teachers throughout the country await the outcome of investigations into their leave fares and entitlements, nothing has been tabled in parliament in this session.
This was raised by the chairman of the Parliamentary Referral Committee on Education and Wabag MP, Robert Ganim.
He questioned Education Minister, Nick Kuman, as to why his committee report was never tabled in parliament. Chairman Ganim said his committee gave three months for the working committee, comprising the Education Department and the Teaching Service Commission, to investigate teachers’ leave fares and entitlements, among other issues.
The report was supposed to be tabled in this parliament session but was never eventuated. The working committee came up with 13 recommendations that call for an immediate review into the functions of teachers’ employers, the Teaching Service Commission and the Education Department, which is responsible for teacher’s salaries.
Some recommendations put forward by the Parliamentary Referral Committee on Education include the need to review and define teacher’s salaries, allowances and entitlements.
Kuman responded, stating the report was yet to be approved by the National Executive Council (NEC). With NEC yet to approve the report, 48,000 teachers will have to wait until the next parliament seating in May to see if the recommendations will be implemented to end teachers leave entitlement issues, once and for all.
