KPress Vol. 10 Iss. 08

Jaynes, Bill (2010-03-17). KPress Vol. 10 Iss. 08 (PDF) (Report). Kolonia, Pohnpei: Kaselehlie Press.

• Has attachment: File:MIWA5CRZ.pdf

Abstract: KPress Vol. 10 Iss. 08: NEWS: Chuuk, FSM—An audit released by the FSM Office of the National Public Auditor found severe deficiencies in the Chuuk State Department of Education’s provision and management of textbooks and instructional materials, reporting that many schools lacked textbooks entirely or had no planned curriculum, despite more than 12,000 students registered in the 2008–2009 school year; the audit, released February 9, concluded that even where textbooks existed they were often unused because teachers lacked training in how to teach from them, contributing to widespread academic underperformance, with one Chuuk school reportedly scoring “below random” on the 2008 COMET test, indicating results worse than chance guessing; auditors further found that large quantities of textbooks had been stored unused in a Department of Education warehouse for more than eight months prior to earlier procurement audits, highlighting systemic failures in distribution, planning, and oversight; fisheries governance coverage reports that the FSM reaffirmed its partnership with the Parties to the Nauru Agreement by signing and adopting the Third Implementing Arrangement in May 2008, strengthening collaborative management of shared fisheries resources within EEZs, and that FSM NORMA expanded its Fisheries Observer Program through a four-week training course adding twenty new observers, including the first two FSM female observers, to support effective monitoring and enforcement; national economic and planning coverage notes work by the FSM Office of Statistics and Budget on macroeconomic analysis of the amended Compact, evaluation of education’s impact on the Chuuk and national economies, improved revenue forecasting, and preparation of President Mori’s 2010 State of the Nation Address; OPINION / EDITORIAL: commentary addresses findings that FSM Telecommunications Corporation executives failed to comply with corporate credit card policies, with OPA recommending that officers not override existing controls but instead propose policy changes for board approval, alongside additional opinion pieces responding to prior editorials on transportation policy and mobility between Guam and Honolulu.