Remote regency needs teachers

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: Puncak Jaya regency needs at least 364 new teachers for 77 elementary schools, a local official said on Thursday.

Regent Andreas Philipus Coem said in Jayapura, that all of the schools in the remote regency lacked teachers. Even, he said, in some schools only one teacher was available for students from all the six grades.

He said the number of migrant teachers leaving the regency continued to increase due to local security concerns.

To cope with the teacher shortage, Andreas said he had asked the state Cendrawasih University to train 100 local students to fill the demand.

"The students are senior high school graduates," Andreas said. (eba)