Volunteer teachers to be rewarded

JAYAPURA, Papua: The Jayapura chapter of the National Education Office said on Monday that it would reward hundreds of volunteer teachers in the regency's remote areas who have dedicated their lives for over ten years without appropriate pay.

Office head Theodorus Arim said that the lack of information had kept his office in the dark about the existence of volunteer teachers in schools that were experiencing a shortage of teachers.

B. Adadikam, a supervisor for kindergartens and elementary schools in Sarmi Mamberamo district, said that most of the volunteer teachers taught at schools in the southern coastal region, and received compensation in the form of harvested produce from students' parents.

"It is not worth their effort. I hope the government will appreciate them," Adadikam said.

Theodorus has said that the need for school teachers in the regency had been adequately met, but that teachers often neglected and abandoned their assigned posts. He promised to punish these errant teachers by withholding their salaries or transferring them to remote areas. --Antara