By Jina Amba in Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea’s Education Secretary Dr Uke Kombra says 620 elementary school teachers have been deregistered after it was found that they had enrolled in teachers colleges through fraudulent means.
He confirmed that Education Department officials discovered after a thorough vetting of teachers’ qualifications that the teachers had used other people’s certificates to enter the teachers training institutions.
“A week ago we deregistered 620 elementary teachers around the country,” he said.
“We found that 620 of them had fraudulently enrolled themselves in [teacher training] colleges.”
He said it was later discovered after proper vetting of their education background that the certificates they used to enter the colleges were not genuine.
“They altered certificates to get into teachers colleges and be trained as teachers,” he said.
“They will no longer be teachers in our education system.
‘We are very serious’
“We are very serious in the Department of Education to ensure that we give quality education to every child.
“And the teachers are a very critical and important element in the teaching and learning of children.”
Kombra said the department had to make sure that anyone wanting to become a teacher should achieve the level of academic excellence needed to be trained as one.
“They must have the right attitude in the classroom, so they can teach children to be good citizens and have a good future,” he said.
“We are very serious about ensuring that we have quality teacher training programmes in colleges and ensure that those who graduate and come into the classroom have to perform their responsibilities as expected of them.
“This is all for the benefit of our children.”
Deregistration certificates
The 620 teachers:
- WILL receive deregistration certificates terminating their employment as teachers in a school under the national education system;
- CANNOT be appointed to any teaching position by all appointing authorities;
- CANNOT be readmitted by the Teaching Service Commission; and
- TAKEN off the government payroll.
The 2021 academic year has begun with the government instructing all schools to enroll all students irrespective of whether they have paid any fees.
The government is paying 63 percent of student fees while the parents will foot the remaining 37 percent.
Asia Pacific Report republishes The National articles with permission.
