Shop owner in Port Moresby arrested for selling school textbooks

A shop owner was arrested and charged for selling textbooks in Port Moresby.  

The Department of Education [NDoE] with the help of the police successfully caught the owner of a shop in Taurama for illegally selling English and Mathematics textbooks for public schools on Wednesday.

First Assistant Secretary for Curriculum, Steven Tandale said the textbooks are issued to schools for free and selling of it “is prohibited and we don't want this to happen.

"The textbooks have the label 'Not for sale' and whoever facilitates the selling of textbooks will be held accountable," Mr. Tandale warned.

NDoE principal legal officer, Dominic Mealin said "legal process will ensure appropriate measures will be taken to those caught illegally selling [textbooks]".

He added that the National Government allocates K170 million annually to print and distribute 900,000 copies to all public schools nationwide.

Meanwhile, Gordon Police Station Commander Gabriel Kini acted upon instruction from the Office of the Police Commissioner.

Police Commissioner David Manning orders investigation into schools illegally selling education materials

Police Commissioner David Manning issued a directive to police personnel to work with the National Department of Education [NDoE] to investigate shops throughout the country illegally selling school materials, issued free to all public schools.

Mr Manning directed Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations Dr Philip Mitna to instruct divisional commanders to investigate, arrest and charge individuals or businesses engaged in this illegal sales.

The first Joint search operation was carried out on Thursday, in consultation with staff of the NoDE Curriculum Division and the media.

Gordon Police Station Commander Gabriel Kini said the tendency to sell books in the shop is not right, when they are paid by the government.

"We have seen people going around selling prohibited items, if caught they must be held accountable, charged and sent to court.

"This practice is not right and it should not happen," Mr Kini said.

The NoDE Head of Curriculum Division Steven Tandale said the learning materials are written, designed, edited and outsourced for printing.

 “Textbooks, syllabus and teacher guides are freely issued by the Government of PNG through the Department of Education and they are not supposed to be sold.

“They must have been stolen or taken away from us somehow, maybe in the process of distribution of books to the schools or somewhere along the way before books reached the schools,” Mr. Tandale said.