As part of ongoing implementation of Access to Education Policy, Senior Management representatives of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) officiated in the handed over two staff houses to Selwyn College on Thursday 21 November 2024.
The two staff houses were handed over by Deputy Secretary Cooperate Services, Coldrine Kolae and was received by ACOM Property Manager, Jessie Tewani and School Principal Edwin Rogemana.
The event was witnessed by MEHRD officials, Selwyn Old Student Association (SOSA) representative, staff and students of the college.
Addressing at the handover ceremony, Mr. Kolae informed staff and students that MEHRD’s support to Selwyn College is covered in the Access to Education Policy. He explained that Access to Education Policy not only supports building of classrooms, dormitories and ablution blocks in schools, but also supports teacher housing.
He stated that housing should be available to teachers wherever they are posted to teach – whether it be in rural, remote schools or schools in urban and semi-urban areas. Teachers and their families require reasonable housing to live in and work from. He added that Selwyn College need teacher housing if it is going to attract qualified teachers with their families.
School Principal Mr. Rogemana acknowledged the National Government through MEHRD for recognizing the teacher housing needs of the school.
He said, Selwyn College, with its increased student enrolment and shortage of teacher housing need to build the required number of houses and so the handover of the two new staff houses was timely.
He added that “currently the school has 31 teaching staff and 15 Ancillary staff and only 29 of them are accommodated in the school, while the rest of the teachers are accommodated in private residence outside the school.”
He said with the completion of the two staff houses it would increase the number of staff houses to 31 adding the school still needed five more staff houses to meet the increased demand for teacher housing.
The two staff houses were funded by the National Government through the MEHRD development budget.
