By Julie Badui Owa – EMTV News, Lae
Morobe Province will now manage its own TFF funds next year, making it the third Province in the country, for the Government to decentralize its TFF Education Policy.
The Provincial Education Board endorsed a committee last week to ensure that the policy is delivered, monitored and coordinated at the district level.
Morobe Governor, Ginson Saonu, thanked the Minister for Education and the Secretary, Uke Kombra, for decentralizing the TFF components to the province.
The decentralization of the government’s TFF Education Policy to Morobe Province will make it easy for the Province to spend, monitor, control and acquit at the Provincial level.
This includes the 40 percent for School Administration, 30 percent for Teaching and Learning materials and 30 percent for infrastructure.
The Morobe Governor said the Government is yet to give the TFF amount for the province.
The TFF policy is one of the government’s policies for quality education to all schools in PNG. However, the policy was not working effectively for most schools in the country, especially in Morobe.
According to our initial investigation since 2017, the National Government owes 6 Primary Schools in Lae District alone more than K3 million in outstanding Tuition Fee Free payments. The outstanding payments have been accumulating since 2014.
During a recent Governor’s Conference in Madang this year, Saonu highlighted that the Government owes Morobe K30 million in outstanding TFF funds.
A committee has been endorsed by Morobe’s Provincial Education Board to ensure the TFF funds are delivered, monitored and coordinated at the district level.
The Provincial Program Advisor for Education, Keith Jiram says the division will come up with a policy to monitor and control the payment of the TFF funds in the province.
