As the 2026 academic year begins with teachers resuming duties today Monday January 19th, some teachers in the National Capital District (NCD) chose to front up at the National Department of Education (NDOE) office to voice their long-standing concerns over unpaid entitlements and poor working conditions.
The action took place as teachers resumed duty for the new school year. Those involved say the move was driven by frustration after repeated delays by authorities in addressing their concerns.
Speaking to PNG Haus Bung, Abraham Mondo, who has been actively speaking out on issues affecting teachers nationwide, said the situation had reached a breaking point, particularly over delayed leave fares and other basic entitlements.
“This strike has happened through frustration, has they have been prolonging the things we teachers are entitled too and that is why we went on strike,” Mr. Mondo said.
Mr. Mondo said teachers turned to social media to raise their concerns after claiming the Papua New Guinea Teachers Association failed to act when the matter was raised through formal channels.
“It seems to be that our teacher's union (PNGTA) is compromised with the NDOE, as this concern is old and they have neglected it too long and that is why we took to the social media to voice our problem,” he said.
He added that many teachers feel unprotected under the current system.
“Also, majority of the teachers aren't registered with PNGTA. Therefore, only few will be protected under the Industrial Act through PNGTA. So, if we protest than we would be taking a massive risk,” Mr. Mondo said.
According to Mr. Mondo, the protest is based on 14 key issues that teachers say continue to affect both educators and students across Papua New Guinea. These include
- Deprivation of the right to speak
- Delay tactics used against teachers’ issues
- Withholding of rightful entitlements
- Nepotism within the National Department of Education
- Bribery
- Ethnic bias
- Poor infrastructure development in many schools
- Dilapidated and unsafe classrooms
- Sexual harassment and related concerns
- Denial of leave fares
- Nonpayment of HDA allowances
- Lack of school materials
- Ghost teachers and ghost schools
- Lack of teachers’ housing
Mr. Mondo said these issues are long standing and continue to affect the education system at all levels.
He called on the National Department of Education to address the 14 concerns raised by teachers, saying meaningful action would improve both teacher welfare and student learning outcomes.
