The Education Department has approved Tuonumbu Village which is one of the biggest villages in the Yangoru-Saussia District of East Sepik Province situated along the Sepik Highway to have a new primary school because their kids currently travel all the way to Kubalia to attend a school and back which takes up to six hours a day.
“The distance exhausts the kids and their academic performance are not as good as it use to be in the old days. Also given the population growth I fully see the need of Tuonumbu village to have their own primary school,” said the Minister for International Trade and Investment & Yangoru-Saussia MP, Hon. Richard Maru.
The people of Tuonumbu requested their local MP, Minister Maru to support the funding of their new primary school through the Yangoru-Saussia District Development Authority (DDA). However, Minister Maru said he was very much aware of the issues over the land that they had allocated for the school.
“While I am committed to build all the classrooms and staff houses next year I will not assist with funding until the land issue is sorted out and properly acquired and surveyed to guarantee the Government that there is no dispute over the land before it invests in the facilities of the new school. All facilities of the school including the classrooms, staff houses, and a library will cost over K1.5 million and it will be irresponsible for the Government to invest in this school when the issue of land ownership is not being cleared. I am committed to have the facilities of the school built next year only on the understanding that all land issues will be addressed this year,” said Minister Maru.
Minister Maru challenged the school chairman and the leaders of Tuonumbu village to get their act together and sort the land issues and have the land mobilized for the State to legally acquire the land in the next few months.
“I am ready to build a very outstanding and well-designed school in Tuonombu. It is going to be a significant investment. It will be an investment that will anchor the future of this village and the generations to come. I am making a commitment to start building the facilities next year, so you have to sort out the land issues this year,” said Minister Maru.
