The PNG Teachers Association (PNGTA) has raised concern over the de-registration of teachers in the country saying it will affect students education. PNGTA general-secretary David Numbaming told The National that the country needed more teachers.
He said the system should have vetted students properly before admitting them to teachers colleges and now that they had come through, it was too late to penalize them. He said the reason given to de-register teachers was good in theory with the idea being to maintain a standard but in practical terms the country already had a shortage of teachers and excluding a number of them would only place more stress on the system.
Numbaming added that the teachers in question also would have spent significant time and resources to get their three-year teaching diplomas. He called on the Education Department to be pragmatic and look at other options to penalize the teachers rather than de-registering them.
We understand that these teachers did not have respect for themselves.
They only have themselves to blame but also the teachers college principals or management should carry part of the blame for not being there in the beginning and not following rules.
David Numbaming, PNGTA general secretary
He said the reality of the situation was that the country needed teachers and could not afford the luxury of removing a large number of them and leave schools handicapped.
Numbaming said that de-registration of many teachers was shocking and sad for children who needed to have a teacher in the classroom.