Merauke: The district head of Merauke, Drs Romanus Mbaraka has called for an improvement in primary school education. Teachers must be prepared to stay in remote places and accept responsibility for improving the level of primary education.

He said that the government should provide the necessary facilities to make this possible, in particular providing houses for the teachers.. He made these remarks while addressing a meeting of head teachers of higher level education.’ We cannot put too much pressure on  pupils at middle school who are not able to do well at school, because the education that they received at the primary school failed to reach the required level and the children did not get the education they needed at primary school.

He said that all too often, young people who had completed their education at secondary schools were not able to pass entry tests when they wanted to enrol at tertiary-level colleges in Java because they had not reached the same level as children from other parts of the country.

Such a situation represents a challenge for all of us, especially for teachers who should be thinking about  how to improve the level of schooling available for children living in kampungs. If children receive good education at primary school, it will be much easier for them to pass tests to go on to a higher school.

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Merauke: A deputy district chief has said that  one of the basic problems in the kampungs is that educational facilities are not sufficiently available. The problem is that teachers prefer to stay in the cities in order to get certificates for their own career promotion, and earn a better wage.

Sunarjo said that he had asked the central government  to provide the necessary funds to pay higher wages to teachers in Merauke. The certificates should be granted   step by step, making it possible for others to stay in the kampungs and deal with the educational needs there.

He said if the government fails to provide the certificates they need, this will make it difficult for them to improve their prospects. However, teachers who fail to comply with their teaching schedule for forty-five days running should be dishonourably sacked.