K19.5 MILLION RELEASED FOR RETIRED TEACHERS

A total of K19.5 million was released by the Department of Treasury as final entitlements and repatriation for 570 retired teachers in Papua New Guinea.

The employer of teachers, the Teaching Service Commission (TSC), confirmed and announced this long-awaited news to teachers who visited Vulupindi Haus, Port Moresby last week.

TSC Commissioner Operation, Mr. Maini Mike Ugaia on behalf of 70,000 teachers, including retirees, expressed gratitude to the Department of Treasury for making this payment available.

He said this is the 3rd batch of retiree payments, and will be paid to the 570 teachers before the end of this year.

Speaking to the retirees, TSC Commissioner Operations, Mr. Maini Mike Ugaia, said the payment process had been slow due to the involvement of multiple agencies and the need for due diligence. However, he assured them that retirees would now receive their entitlements.

Mr. Ugaia clarified that the repatriation payment applies only to retired teachers, not resigned teachers.

“Retiring means you have served this country until you are 60 years old, and as a token of appreciation, we pay you your entitlements along with repatriation,” said Mr. Ugaia.

He explained that, due to the lengthy time frame and challenges faced by retired teachers, TSC’s involvement since 2024 aims to resolve issues among teachers, provinces, and Treasury.

Mr Ugaia said, currently TSC’s Industrial Team is working on the next batch of retirees entitlements. Once it is done, the files would be sent to Treasury Department for funding.

He extended his gratitude to Treasury, the Department of Education, and TSC officers for their dedication to the process.

TSC Principal Advisor Industria, Mrs. Esban Rita Karo urged Salaries Officers from all the provinces to compile exit files for all outstanding exits and also recently approved exits from their provinces and send them to TSC Headquarters so calculations can be checked and included for funding bid to the Treasury Department.

“The files contain the teachers records from the day when they were first admitted into the Teaching Service, and we also check the salary history to ensure they have not taken furlough leave, because if they have taken furlough leave, service paid would be from the date they resume teaching after the furlough.

That’s the reason why we are insisting that the files must come,” Mrs Karo said.

She said this applies to exit members who were already in service before 2003 when Alesco system was introduced.

Mrs. Karo said Teachers who have started teaching in 2003 up till now, all the records are in the system so it’s easy to review their records.

Teaching Service Commission expressed appreciation to the retirees for their years of service to Papua New Guinea, and also for their patience in waiting for their entitlements to be paid.