Children in Nikura Village, in the Kairuku-Hiri District of Central Province, will now have two permanent classrooms to use after years of learning in make-shift shelters.
Since the school was established in the year 2000, elementary children were forced to learn while seated on the ground without proper desks or boards to put their books and write on.
School Chairman, Martin Rabao, told EMTV News that after 41 years of independence, education is one area that is still lacking Government support.
He said with no proper classrooms, children are forced to sit on the ground and learn.
“Our children are forced to sit on the ground. If there is heavy rain, we close the school. If the sun is too hot, we stop learning,” Rabao said.
With changes in the education curriculum in the last two years, the school has not been able to implement many of these changes.
“We’ve been behind some of the key policies the Government want us to implement, especially in the implement the standard based education curriculum which was reintroduced this year, all is because of the poor classroom conditions our children are being educated in,” Elementary Head Teacher George Naime said.
Last Thursday, Local MP, Peter Isoaimo, visited Nikura to open a double classroom built at a cost of K115,000. Isoaimo said with education being the Government’s priority, his administration is committed to help develop early childhood education.
