The Teaching Service Commission Disciplinary Committee (TSCDC) made a decision to reinstate (8) teachers of the Kui Wamp Nga High School in Western Highlands who were terminated by the Provincial Education Board for assisting students to cheat in the 2019 Grade 10 National Examinations.
Teaching Services Commission Acting Commissioner Policy, Mr Joel Nava, made it clear that the TSCDC decision to reinstate the 8 teachers was handed down by an appeals committee appointed by the TSC which reviewed appeals put forth by the teachers who were terminated by the Western Highlands PEB.
The appeals committee comprised of Grade 5 Principal Magistrate of Western Highlands, Her Worship Miss Betty Kup Jacobs, PNGTA Regional Director, Mr John Melson and TSC Acting Commissioner Policy, Mr Joel Nava.
“The committee looked at all the cases and they saw some errors on the part of the provincial education board,” stated Mr Nava.
“The committee was of the view that the provincial education board did not have the power to terminate a teacher or a member of the teaching service.”
“The Provincial Education Board can only recommend to the Teaching Service Commission for dismissal. But in this case they did not recommend to the TSC for dismissal, they themselves terminated [the teachers] from the teaching service, which means they acted beyond their powers.”
The appeals committee acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations against each teacher, however on the basis that PEB acted beyond their powers, the appeals committee then decided to reject the decision of the Western Highlands PEB to terminate the teachers and had them reinstated with a lesser penalty.
“Since the committee found out that the teachers admitted to assisting students in the exams, the committee decided to impose a lesser penalty – to reduce their salaries by 4 increments.”
Mr Nava further stated that apart from the 8 teachers who have been implicated, there are others who have not appealed to the TSCDC. For those teachers the Western Highlands PEB decision to have them demoted or have a reduced salary classification will simply be confirmed by the TSC.