The Eight Millennium Dev-elopment Goals developed by the United Nations which Papua New Guinea is committed to include: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal basic education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.

The six Education For All goals that the Papua New Guinea education sector is currently committed to include: expand and improve early childhood care and education (especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children); ensure that all school-age children have access to free education and compulsory quality primary education by 2015; ensure that learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equal access appropriate learning and life skills programs; achieve a 50 percent improvement in adult literacy level by 2015; eliminate gender disparities in education; and improve quality education.

Providing basic and secondary education for students is a challenge for the Papua New Guinea Government, education authorities and parents. Many parents acknowledge the value of education and are willing to support their children to achieve both basic and higher levels of education.

Unfortunately, many parents cannot afford to financially support their children’s education. This is because their economic environment does not allow them to make sufficient income. As such, students who are high academic achievers may miss out on pursuing higher academic qualifications. This can cause frustrations where they may resort to using their intelligence to pursue undesirable activities that could harm them, their families and communities.

Financial support should be identified and created to support high academic achievers so that their intelligence can be geared towards positive achievements. Providing such support is one way of contributing to quality education in PNG.

Support for needy students

Although Papua New Guinea is committed to achieving universal basic education, according to developmental reports, it is off target in achieving this goal by 2015. While this is a challenging goal for the Education Department, despite PNG’s large population compared to other Pacific countries, challenging geographical terrain, current deteriorating conditions of transport infrastructure in many parts of the country and the low economic status of many families, the education sector is doing its best in working towards achieving universal basic education. Some provinces have taken up the challenge and provide education subsidies for their students at various levels of education.

These provinces should be commended for making manpower resource development one of their top priorities and have made financial commitment to such development.

Other provinces that have not made serious commitment to manpower development should urgently consider this strategy as this is one way of achieving universal basic education.

Furthermore, those provinces who have not made such commitment should consider heavily subsidised school fees for the needy families so that their children are given a chance to receive basic education. Heavily subsidised school fees should also be considered for students who have strengths in vocational skills so that they may be given vocational education. These provinces could also secure funding that needy families could apply for to support their children’s education especially at the primary, secondary and vocational levels of education. Education can empower the less fortunate to rise above their current economic level or poverty level. Quality education can change the status of an individual who can rise above the economic environments that their grandparents or parents ‘belonged’ to, for many years.

Sponsors for high academic achievers

The Government and education authorities should also consider sponsorship as a reward for all high academic achievers or talented students in all provinces, if this is not already in place. Education sponsorship could be awarded for the next level of education – especially secondary education.

Students who score high distinctions in all subjects at the national examinations and other forms of school learning assessments could be considered for such sponsorships. Those who score distinctions could be given a 10 percent discount on school fees.

However, students must maintain a high academic performance in all the subjects in order to maintain their scholarships or discounted school fees for the duration of their education. This incentive may challenge top students to work harder in whatever challenges they face in order to maintain high academic results. This is a possible strategy for achieving quality education.

Benefits of sponsored education

There is data available on the benefits of sponsored education for both females and males in Papua New Guinea. Many more have not been captured by research so only those who have been privileged for such opportunities can speak well of the benefits.

However, it is common knowledge that many Papua New Guineans, especially females who have received a subsidised or sponsored education at some level of education are currently positively contributing to the educational, economic, social and political developments and progress in Papua New Guinea.

Many of these females could not have had the chance to pursue higher levels of education especially at the undergraduate and post graduate levels, had they not been sponsored by donor agencies, their own institutions or other sources because they couldn’t afford self sponsorship.

PNG aims to honour its commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. However, achieving some of these goals is challenging given the geographical and population challenges, poor transport infrastructure in many areas and economic challenges faced by many families. For example, the provision of basic education is a huge challenge because, generally, low income-earning families cannot afford to educate all their children.

In such situations, female students may miss out in both basic and higher education because some families may decide to send only their sons to school. Some provinces have made the commitment to provide subsidised education for their students – a positive strategy for manpower resource development.

Basic and higher education can empower people to rise above their current economic status – a sound strategy to address eradication of extreme poverty. Other provinces that have not made such financial commitments should seriously consider this strategy as it can assist PNG to achieve universal basic education. Children from needy families will be given a chance to receive at least basic education.

Sponsorship could also be considered by the appropriate provincial and education authorities for high-achieving students as a reward and also as an incentive to encourage them to continue to perform their best in the challenges they may face in their education.

This is a possible strategy for achieving quality education and a well-educated population.

Patricia Paraide is a senior research fellow in the educational studies division at the National Research Institute. 

This article was published with permission from National Research Institute of Papua New Guinea. NRI website can be accessed at www.nri.org.pg

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