Caption: NCD Governor Powes Parkop
By
MATTHEW VARI
NCD
Governor Powes Parkop renewed his calls to the National Government, namely the
Education Department, to decentralize elementary, primary, and secondary
education in the city to the municipal authority, NCD Commission.
The
governor reiterated the call during the presentation of funds worth K2.3
million to technical and vocational institutions under the TVET scholarship
scheme initiated by NCDC.
He said that with NCDC’s plans to implement
national government policy to bring technical vocational training right down
through high schools down to even primary schools, would create a clear pathway
for students to have all their bases covered in terms of career aspirations.
“Currently
Caritas and Don Bosco Technical Secondary are implementing both technical
skills and academic or intellectual development,” Governor Parkop said.
“This
policy is already there with the department of education, but has not been
fully realized, and I want our capital city to be the pioneer province to
implement this fully.”
“That
is why I want to inform you that I have already applied to the Minister for
Education to decentralize elementary, primary, and secondary education to our
provincial level in NCDC so that we can take ownership of our schools and drive
it to improve the quality of education in our schools in the city.”
“Now
who knows who owns the education system in our city- the national government
through the department of education pretend to own it but you all can see the
problems with our schools in the city.”
He
made reference to the dilemma faced last year when NCD education authorities
engaged projects in excess K200 million in schools in the city despite not
having funds allocated for it.
“This
comes about because there is no proper policy governing our elementary, primary,
and secondary schools in the city,” he pointed out.
“As
long as NCD schools are parked with Department of Education we will continue to
have these problems.”
“When
we take over we will drive it so that we improve the infrastructure, the
learning environment and the teachers’ conditions, so we can start to have
quality education.”
“We
are willing and able with our priorities to bring technical and vocational
training to secondary schools so when a young woman or man wants to be a
mechanical engineer or motor mechanic, the system will not force him to do
something that he or her did not want to do in the first place, in that way the
system is not biased in its approach to cater for the interest of all
students,” Parkop added.
When
Sunday Chronicle raised the issue of decentralizing the elementary, primary,
and secondary school functions to NCDC- Minister for Education Nick Kuman said
that as a municipal authority, there were legal issues that have to be
clarified before decentralization to the city authority would happen.
“Municipal
authority covers them as a council, and legislation does not give them that
power- their scope covers the areas of roads constructions and maintenance,
garbage collection, essential services to city residents just to name a few of
their responsibilities, and their scope of responsibility does not expand
beyond that mandate,” Minister Kuman said.
“Their
primary responsibility is simply a municipal authority and therefore until we
get that legislative framework out of the way.”
He
confirmed, however, that there were discussions going on between NCDC and the
department, with the aim to look at a waver, as both NCDC and the Education
Department were governed by acts of Parliament.
“We
have to find a leeway around it to transfer this responsibility to NCDC, and
this requires structural changes also within NCDC also before the functions are
transferred,” the minister said.
Kuman
added that elementary to grade 12 could be decentralized, but pointed out that National
High schools in Port Moresby and anything beyond year 12 would not be given to
NCDC.
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