On his recent trip to Sidudu, Sariba Island in Milne Bay, Samarai-Murua MP and Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Isi Henry Leonard had the opportunity to meet a teacher who had been sponsored through the Samarai-Murua Tertiary Students School Fee Assistance Program.
This program is part of his district’s initiative in assisting and addressing the education sector in Samarai-Murua.
After the independence program which had coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Sidudu Primary School, in which Minister Leonard had delivered the keynote message, a Grade 4 Teacher at the Primary school approached him and his team to introduce herself.
To his pleasant surprise, Minister Leonard was informed that Miss Hazel Gwa is a product of the tertiary students’ school fee assistance program in the last term of parliament.
Miss Gwa, a 26-year-old from Panaeati island, west of Misima Island, had completed her studies at the Dauli Teachers College in Dauli Valley, Hela Province.
She spent two years from 2016 to 2018 before graduating with a diploma in primary school teaching.
In her first posting after graduating, Miss Gwa was sent to East Cape Primary School on the eastern tip of mainland Milne Bay in 2019.
In 2020 she was posted to Patnai Primary School, southwest of Misima Island, Samarai-Murua District.
From 2021 last year to this year 2022, she has been at the Sidudu Primary school on Sariba island. Her tenure expires next year in 2023.
Miss Gwa completed her grades nine to ten from 2012 to 2013 at Misima High School before attending Wesley Secondary School on Fergusson Island in Esa’ala District to do her grades 11 and 12 from 2014 to 2015.
She expressed her gratitude to Mr Leonard and his team for giving her an opportunity to complete her studies and become a teacher.
Like Miss Gwa, there are many graduate students across the district who had successfully completed their respective programs and are now helping the people of Samarai-Murua.
This is something Minister Leonard envisioned when he became a member of parliament in 2017 and is determined to continue to assist many more students through the program in this term of parliament.
The Minister encouraged her to continue to strive and serve the people of Samarai-Murua.
He was impressed with the number of success stories of students who had come out of the school fee assistance program and highlighted the need for continuous support in this sector, especially at the tertiary education level.
Minister Leonard pointed out the importance of education for all children in his district and many youths who had missed out on further education, as he was determined to create opportunities for them.
This he said would generally build social intelligence across the district to create a smarter, more informed, creative, skilled, and reliable community to meet the demands of change.
Adding that the school fee assistance program helped ease the burden on many parents who struggled with school fee issues.
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