Kerevat's history is not Marape's to claim


by PAUL L. KEBAIJA

The plaque at Kerevat National School of Excellence now reads "James Marape Legacy Campus". It sits on a K3.8 million block of 16 classrooms, an auditorium and digital systems, all paid for by the people of Papua New Guinea. Not one kina came from the Prime Minister. The Governing Council has handed a sitting politician naming rights over public property. It did so without asking the alumni, local leaders and community who have carried this school for almost eight decades.

Kerevat opened in 1947 as the first high school in the Territory of New Guinea, beginning as a teacher-training institution. It belongs to East New Britain and the Islands. Sir Rabbie Namaliu finished there in 1966 and went on to become the country's fourth Prime Minister. Sir Paulias Matane went from Kerevat to teacher training at Sogeri, served as a teacher and schools inspector, and became Governor-General. Bernard Narokobi matriculated there. These are the people who built Kerevat's name. Marape, a Highlands MP schooled at Minj and Kabiufa, has no history with Kerevat beyond decisions he signed off as a minister.

The council's justification makes it worse. Education Secretary Dr Uke Kombra says the dedication recognises Marape's role in conceiving the National Schools of Excellence and in securing funding as a former Education Minister. That describes a minister doing his job with public money. Policy and budgets are what the office exists for. If every minister who signed off a programme earned a plaque, our schools, hospitals and roads would read like a register of incumbents.

Marape's actual legacy is already on the record. In February 2026 the Financial Action Task Force grey-listed Papua New Guinea over weak anti-money laundering controls. It is the second time in a decade, after the country had worked its way off the list in 2016. Papua LNG, whose gas agreement was signed in 2019, was meant to reach a final investment decision by the end of 2023, then early 2026, then mid-2026. It still has none, and TotalEnergies is handing operatorship to ExxonMobil. With the 2027 national election less than a year away, the new Electoral Commissioner admits preparations are "critically behind schedule". No plaque at Kerevat changes any of that.

Sir Rabbie led Pangu Pati, the party Marape leads today. A council looking for a statesman to honour had one in its own alumni register, from its own province and from the Prime Minister's own party. It chose the man holding the purse strings instead.

Nobody asked the people who own this school. The council concedes it did not consult alumni or the community before the unveiling, and has promised a meeting. The principal, Paul Kupi, dismissed even that, telling The National that "if they've made a decision, then it's final." Public institutions do not belong to principals, councils or prime ministers.

In Australia, naming a school after a living person requires a formal exemption from the Registrar of Geographic Names. Kerevat's council applied no test at all.

The council's promised meeting must remove Marape's name and give the block to someone who earned it at Kerevat: Sir Rabbie Namaliu, Sir Paulias Matane, or a name offered by the Napapar landowners whose land the school has occupied since 1947. It should also adopt a written policy barring serving politicians from public naming.

Keep public assets public. Leave politicians' names off taxpayers' buildings.

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No weekend special this Saturday but Monday, Have a great weekend.

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