Papua New Guinea National Education Plan - Has The Education System Failed, Is It Failing?

Department of Education Awareness on SBE (CLICK HERE)

Papua New Guineans and concerned friends who do not have the means to put their child/ren in overseas schools or private schools have to take these 4 points seriously: 

1) National Education Plan 2005 - 2014 has lapsed. A new NEP (the NEP 2015 - 2024) is NOT out this year. Why is the plan - road map for the next 10 years - not out in the public before the school year begins? 

2) Curriculum change (Outcomes Based Education to Standards Based Education) is a system-wide change which takes effect throughout every stage of schooling and it starts now, 2015. The Education Minister and National Department of Education secretary mentioned that this change would take effect regardless of early awareness and preparation. How the change will happen or what is actually changing in still not clear. 

3) Structural Change (2-6-6) – The curriculum change is closely followed by structural adjustment. Unlike curriculum change where it takes effect across the system, the two-six-six structural readjustment is gradual. This means that children starting school this year will be pioneer generation. Instead of spending 12 years in schools (i.e. Elementary Gr 1 -2 , primary Gr 3 - 8  and secondary Gr 9-12, every student starting  school in 2015 will spend 14 years (not 12 years) before reaching University. So, Papua New Guineas who send their kids to start school at age 6 or 7 now have to realise that these kids will be 20 or 21 when they do first year at university, not 18 or 19. So, what is the right age to start school now? Do we want our kids to be 20/21 before entering unis? 

4) Project Fee - schools are directed by the Minister and NDoE not to charge project fees or face disciplinary action. Why now and not 2012, 2013 and 2014? Tuition Free Policy was implemented since 2012. Do the parents get a refund backdated to 2012? Most of them had been paying project fees.

These 4 points show that the Education minister, his secretary, education officials and foreign education consultants are playing around with 'human resource' of PNG. The heads are so disorganised putting parents, principals and teachers placed in precarious situation beginning 2015 school year. There is no clear direction from the top. 

These are changes that will have a big impact in the next 10 years (NEP 2015-2024) and the next 14 years (structural change). The best thing the National Department of Education needs to do is to give CLEAR directive to head teachers about what is expected as far as the changes and NEP are concerned.