THE GENERAL SECRETARY of the Papua New Guinea Teachers Association says there won’t be enough teachers to fulfill the government’s wish to provide free education for students up to Year 10.

Ugwalubu Mowana says the government initiative is a bold one but currently the number of teachers being trained is exceeded by those leaving the profession.

In its first budget the O’Neill government has allocated $165 million to education for next year, but Mr Mowana says this won’t go far.

“This amount of money is small. It proably might cater for teacher and learning materials but it won’t assist infrastructure development in schools,” he said.

“Likewise it will not help in training of teachers with that allocation.”

Mr Mowana says the government initiative is likely to lead to larger classes and affect the quality of education provided.

Source: Radio New Zealand International, 26 September