Schools in New Ireland have been forced to turn away students due to a delay in the release of government tuition fee subsidy (GTFS) funds, an official said. Felix Kaltubim, Chairman of the New Ireland Education Board, on Thursday urged the Education Department to expedite the release of the funds to enable students to resume classes. "Education Minister Lucas Dekena announced a week ago that K212 million for the second quarter had been released, yet schools in New Ireland have not received their share of the funding," Kaltubim said. "Where is the hold-up, and how soon can our schools receive their funding?" As of this week, all secondary boarding schools in New Ireland are temporarily closed until the funds are disbursed. Kaltubim highlighted that the government's slow release of quarterly promised school funds has left schools struggling financially. Schools in Morobe and Madang are also facing similar issues due to the delay in receiving the second quarter of this year’s GTFS. This situation has prompted calls from education officials for immediate action. Last week, Morobe’s Huon-Gulf Education Manager Sam Geseng urged the government to reinstate the parental component fee to ease the financial burden on schools. "The government should bring back the parental component fees, where parents pay 25% and the government, through the GTFS, pays 75%," Geseng said. He made this call after Salamaua High School in Morobe neared closure due to a shortage of food rations. In Madang, nine schools, including Tusbab Secondary, Malala, Rai Coast, Holy Spirit High, Saidor, Simbai, Josephstall, Aiome, and Annaberg, are facing operational challenges due to missing out on the second quarter GTFS funds. Tusbab Secondary School Principal Alphonse Igag stated on Thursday that the boarding schools are particularly affected and are in urgent need of support. The delay in funding has created a critical situation, affecting thousands of students' education and well-being across these regions. Education officials continue to press for swift action to resolve the funding crisis. ALso read Comments are closed.
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