Churches in PNG and Govt Partnership Vital for Development (MDGs & SDGs)

Should the Churches in PNG be blamed for the poor attainment of MDG (and SDG) indicators? This post aims to address the question paused in this article by asking whether the churches in PNG have become passive in providing education and health services lately.

Recommended reading: Lutheran Church in PNG Urged to Build University with Govt Support

Churches in PNG and Development 

For anyone to blame the churches (and its development agencies) on PNG’s dismal performance in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) undermines the fantastic work churches have been doing in the country. 

Number of churches’ educational and health set-ups (revealed in the table, ADRA Australia, 2015, p. 3) indicated that churches are equal development partners. 

Their network needs not only to be strengthened but also effectively funded.

This article, firstly, eliminates the opinion that churches must be blamed for PNG’s poor performances, in the last 15 years, to achieve MDGs indicators. In fact, the Church leaders identified the government’s funding as a major constraint (Aupong 2016). 

The report also showed that the government’s budgetary allocation was reduced by more than half this year, 2016. Churches cannot shoulder any responsibility when they work in challenging conditions. 

They must not be blamed when government budgetary allocation is either cut or not released to them. 

The government’s recognition of churches (RNZ October 7 2013) is one thing said; but a cordial partnership according to Bishop of the Diocese of Bougainville, Bernard Unabali, must be built on Christian moral (JOSEPH April 28, 2016).

Secondly, the presentation emphasises the need for Govt of PNG to do a critical self-search as a partner. The PNGCPP case study identified government lack of consistent engagement with churches as one of the main constraints (ADRA Australia, 2015). 

All in all, churches must not shoulder the blame for PNG not achieving millennium development goals and country indicators. 

CHURCHES IN PNG AND THEIR AGENCIES KEY DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS

The seven mainstream churches and their development agencies in partnership with the government were mentioned by Volker Hauck, Angela Mandie-Filer and Joe Bolger (2005). And further discussed (by ADRA, 2015) in a case study titled Sustained Investment in Church Development Capacity. 

Both research work, though 10 years apart, had reiterated the significance of reaching the rural population through a Church-State partnership.

The PNG Churches Partnership Program (PNG CPP) established in 2004 by Australia and PNG governments seek to involve churches to deliver education, health and others social services to people in rural areas (ADRA, 2015). 

Over ninety percent (Volker Hauck et al., 2005 p.11) of PNG’s population are Christians, eighty seven percent (ADRA, 2015, p.3) belong to the churches in PNG CPP. Many live in the rural areas. 

In fact, these churches are an important development partner as far as reaching the mass of the population is concerned. 

For development to trickle down to the people, churches’ network must be utilised as ‘vehicle’ for goods and services delivery. Volker Hauck et al., (2005) acknowledged that churches are the main stakeholders.

 ‘PNG society is largely religious and as such Christian churches are important social actors that play a significant role in the country’ (reiterated in ADRA, Australia, 2015, p. 3). 

Indicatively, churches prominence within the community is a vital link between the people and the government.

Consistency and mutual engagement has to prevail amongst the partners like the 

• PNG Department of National Planning and Monitoring (DoNPM), 
• Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and 
• Churches in PNG. 

Both past (Peter Mar 12, 2010); (Taru Oct 12, 2012) and present (Aupong 2016) governments acknowledged the significance of churches’ participation in nation-building. 

‘The Minister for National Planning and Monitoring Charles Abel says churches are a major provider of basic social services in PNG and the government recognises their role in improving the lives of Papua New Guineans’ (RNZ October 7 2013).

A recent policy framework called the Partnership Policy Framework between Government of PNG (GoPNG) and Christian Churches in PNG was written to include churches in formulation and execution of future development agendas. 

Its purpose is two-fold: to work together to achieve integral human development and to create an ongoing partnership to advance development in the country (Department of National Planning and Monitoring, [DoNPM], 2016, p. 2). 

Past reports have indicated that the GoPNG has either cut funding or delayed budgetary allocation in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and is inconsistent in engaging with churches in PNG and the donor partners. 

CONCLUSION 

Ministerial statements and policy guides would only be rewarding if they are complemented with action. 

It is vital for all parties (the PNG govt, churches and donor partners) to sustain the work of churches. Involve the churches. Bring them into the picture when social developments are concerned.

REFERENCES

Adventist Development and Relief Agency [ADRA], Australia. Papua New Guinea: A Case Study of Sustained Investment in Church Development Capacity. Case Study, Wahroonga NSW: ADRA, 2015, 6.

Aupong, Serah. Funding Challenges for PNG Church-State Partnership Program. TV News, Port Moresby: National EMTV News, 2016.

CatNews New Zealand. February 9, 2016. http://cathnews.co.nz/2016/02/09/church-health-services-in-png-struggle-on-alone/ (accessed July 18, 2016).

DoNPM. Partnership Policy Framework between Government of Papua New Guinea and the Christian churches in Papua New Guinea. Policy Framework, Port Moresby: Department of National Planning and Monitoring, 2016, 12.

JOSEPH, MORKANA. Government-church partnership program to cease. News, Port Moresby: Post Courier, April 28, 2016.

Peter, Sea. Incentive fund helps PNG. News, Port Moresby: Post Courier, Mar 12, 2010.

RNZ. PNG announces church-state partnership programme. News, Wellington: Radio New Zealand - Pacific, October 7 2013.

Taru, Benstead. PNG can't do without churches: MP. News, Port Moresby: Post Courier, Oct 12, 2012.

Volker Hauck, Angela Mandie-Filer and Joe Bolger. Ringing the church bell: The role of churches in governance and public performance in Papua New Guinea. Discussion Paper, Maastricht: The European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), 2005, 39.

Yakham, Henzy. Good news for PNG churches. News, Port Moresby: Post Courier, Jan 25, 2012.

Lutheran Church in PNG Urged to Build University with Govt Support

Reflection On Change - Use Education As A Medium of Change

A lot of changes in the education system have been going on at the National level (NDoE) this year. The obvious one is the change in structure, called the 2-6-6. With this structural change comes curricular change too - moving from Outcome-Based Education (OBE) to Standard Based Education (SBE). A much talked about change, yet little is known.

Many do not know what it is, not even the education minister. He has no idea whether the structural change will have an impact on the current curriculum or not. Teachers will have to go through trial and error as they did OBE. 

Again, this year the NDoE will have come up with National Education Plan 2015 - 2024. This plan is the road map for education in Papua New Guinea for the next 10 years, but the documents are not out yet as I write.

So, why are the structural (2-6-6) change, curricular change and NEP 2014-2024 important? All provincial governments should consider ways to fine-tune the education system in each of the 22 provinces.

It is time for every provincial education authority to take charge. They should not wait for autonomy - a word closely related to procrastination. If provincial governors and senior education officials, who are responsible for the change, want quality education they must take the lead to make a change.

One change in a system like the education system will have a ripple effect in the next 10 to 14 years. That means that the 10-year National Education Plan which starts this year and ends in 2024 will have an impact on 10 generations.

So, with this change must come to a 14-year strategic plan to follow up on children who start his/her early learning years now. By doing this will enable the planners today to track the progress (and achievement) of a population – the generations – that goes through the change and allow planners to compare and contrast OBE to SBE.

In fact, monitoring students as well as effecting the new system makes education outcomes attainable and measurable. Without doing this would mean that the Papua New Guinea education system is heading down a part of ‘scrape-and-replace’ like what happened to OBE after 22 years. The last thing any developing education system would want to see is a failing system.

So how practical can provincial education authorities are in taking a leading role – and a proactive one – in the fine-tuning education system in their localities?

Take for instance, Simbu Province has 5 secondary schools producing grade 12 annually: Rosary Secondary School - Kondiu, Kerowagi Secondary School, Yawe Moses Secondary School, Gumine Secondary School and Muaina Secondary School. There are 4 classes per grade – i.e. 4 classes of grade 9, 4 classes of grade 10, 4 classes of grade 11 and 4 classes of grade 12. At 35 students per class, a school’s population would be 560 students.

What does this benchmark number mean? Senior education officers, parents and leaders have to see that having lots of secondary schools does not mean all is good. In fact, it is the opposite – more secondary schools is a recipe for disaster. Fact.

Look, each secondary school in Simbu would have produced only 140 (35 x 4) grade 12s annually. So, 5 would produce 700 grade 12s every year.

In fact, if 3 secondary schools take in grades 11 and 12 (and done away with grades 9 and 10) this would have increased grade 12 classes to 8 (and grade 11 classes to 8 too.)

This means that one secondary school would be producing 280 (35 x 8) grade 12s annually. Now, 3 secondary schools would be graduating 840 students - 140 students more. 

Perhaps the most important thing here is the fact that Simbu Province does not have to have many secondary schools to be competitive in developing its ‘human resource’.

END: Nelson Mandela once said ' Education is the most powerful tool you can use to change the World'. This is true. You - the change-makers - can make it happen. 

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DISCUSSIONS ON FACEBOOK

This is what I mentioned is a discussion on how to improve student's performance.

"I think Simbu Provincial Government can take ownership of education trends/changes locally instead of relying on NDoE. I like what *Benjamin mentioned above. For example, Simbu can do well if it concentrates its resources and reduces its secondary schools to only 2 or 3: expand on Years 11 and 12, tighten students' selection process, get the best teachers and administrators to teach and manage the schools, give them performance incentives, sponsor top students, etc. What Simbu Provincial Government needs to do is to align its plans with NEP 2015-2024 or make the adjustment to existing failures within the system. There is never a better time to start than now when changes are happening left-right-and-centre at the national level."

*Here is the commentary by Benjamin Sipa:

"This discussion is about over but to tell from what I know while having my other cousins and siblings attending those secondary schools and hearing from what they say I understand that we should do something different for the secondary & high schools of Simbu Province.

1. Grade 9 & 10 should not be made part of the secondary schools of Simbu, should be catered in designated high schools strictly. 

2. Ensure to equip only 3 secondary schools with highly qualified teachers, fully resourced facilities like science labs, computer lab, Library, textbooks and dormitories – do away with 6 secondary schools, in fact produce junk that even can’t speak and write better English. 

a. Too many secondary schools also allows for enrolling less qualified students who at the end brings overall performance of school down by average.

3. Provide good incentives for the 3 secondary schools teachers to attract and have them stay in Simbu secondary schools. Facilities and technical expertise goes hand in hand, if the Simbu Prov. Govt and Division of Edu. in Simbu are serious, should think about.

4. Most of qualified teachers would like to stay close to where they can have easy access to decent services. Rural outback secondary schools do imperatively miss the ingredients. Thus require re-strategize to produce best outcome as a province.

5. These are some things that I picked up when talking to some of those young folks who have enrolled in some of those secondary schools. Since we mentioned Gumine Secondary here in the discussion, at the beginning of last year, there were qualified graduates went there at the beginning of school year, they decided to leave the school after few weeks. The positions left were filled by people with lesser qualification. Should we change our approach or leave?!"

National Education Plan 2015 - 2019 Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world

As PNG looks forward to another 5-year National Education Plan, NEP 2015 – 2019, over 21000 grade 12 graduates are competing for one of the 4500 places at tertiary institutions nationwide.  Where will 80% of these young men and women go? What is their future? How do we arm them with the 'most powerful weapon' - EDUCATION after grade 12?

NEP 2005 – 2014 clearly outlined specific recommendations (and ways) to achieve its goals. The vision was clear. I will pinpoint certain areas where government and National Department of Education (NDoE) should have done right in articles (II) – (IV).

This article gives an introductory remark on way forward in next 10 years by looking at why Nelson Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”



His words are relevant in PNG now.

This great man gave his speech during his first visit to the US after his release from 27 years imprisonment. In the early 1990 many students dropped out of school. That was why he stressed the importance of school and education. He wanted to get the message to every student - young man and woman who was present that time.

He also said “This [students dropping out from school] is a very disturbing situation, because the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow,” he told the students . He urged students to “try as much as possible to remain in school.”

The message was clear: he gave it at the right time to the right audience. Many students present took the message in.  Here is one example.

Papua New Guinea education planners need to get this message in, too. Education consultants, researchers, NDoE secretary and time wasters at the department must get their heads together.

This isn’t a time for planning as it may seem. It is time for planning and implementing a new (or adjusted) 10-year vision.

The words of Mandela rings through to this day when over 80% of Grade 12s do not have a place in higher educational institutions. It is time to create National Education Plan that encompasses not only the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), BUT also relevant to PNG.

Why not start by addressing high dropout rate? Look no further than do what needed done is the best way forward.

4500 Spaces at Tertiary Institutions in PNG are Susceptible to Bribery

According to the Papua New Guinea Education Secretary, 21430 Grade 12 students have sat the national examinations this year. Dr Tapo also revealed that only 4500 spaces are available for the academic year 2015 at all higher learning institutions. That means that 20% of students in Grade 12 will be considered for universities and colleges throughout the country.

Tiri Kuimbaku's photo | Sharp Talk (Click to view discussion)

This article featured in PNG Attitude

The drop-out figure could be more than 80% (16730). Take a look at the data and facts presented. The irregularities are pretty shocking!

English and Literature (E&L) exam are compulsory/mandatory for all students. That means that if 21430 students have sat for the examinations, the same number should ALSO do the E&L exam. Unfortunately, the real number that sat the exam was put down to only 17236. So, who are those  4194 (i.e. 21430 - 17236) students?

In fact, the same number (21430) should also have sat for Mathematics examinations. The department statistics showed that 7091 students sat for Maths A and 13191 Maths B. That gives a total of 20282. Who are 1148 (21430 - 20282) students, where is their place in the total given by Dr Tapo?

Numbers presented by the secretary do not actually add up when we are talking about only 4500 spaces. 

Take, for instance, the difference between the total of grade 12 students given by the secretary (21430) and those sitting E&L (17236) is about the same as the number of spaces available from tertiary institutions, i.e. 4500 available spaces vs 4194 unaccounted students sitting the exams.

In the Maths exams, there are 1148 students who are suspiciously unaccounted for. We are talking about numbers in the thousands when there are only 4500 places. The odds indicated that dropout figures for this year could be more than what initially thought.

As a matter of clarification, students doing code, distance study or resitting exams could have been included. 

But, even if they are included the irregularity is in the thousand and so there is a stiff competition between the 'known' and 'unknown' students, the accounted and the unaccounted. That means that more than 4000 students who are not attending a formal secondary school are also vying for one of the 4500 spaces.

Fair enough. But, the secretary for education should make this clear in his reporting. He is presenting figures that do not reflect the actual situation. How many students are not from the mainstream education system? At least put some meaning into the numbers.

The irregularities in numbers do indicate extra students are included in the total competing for the limited spaces. So who are they? We don't know. The point is: if 4000 students from the mainstream secondary school are competing for the 4000 spaces with another 4000 'ghost' students, the NET competition is zero.

In reality, those 4500 spaces are susceptible to bribery, manipulation and foul-play of all sorts. So, who suffers here?  Those poor students who have spent the best part of their 12 years in the formal education stood little or no chance against a manipulative (unaccounted) lot. 

The Papua New Guinea Department of Education needs to collect relevant and accurate data from schools around the country. The secretary analysis must base on factual data. He must not spit out data to the media when the numbers are flawed.

Make no mistake. The unambiguous numbers can have a dramatic effect on mainstream students - those young 18 and 19 years old. It is unfair to mistreat one student in the selection process, let alone thousands of them. 

END: PNG education system is producing 80 - 90% dropouts at Grade 12 every year. Yet, the government does not have accurate data to help sort out this problem.

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With only 1 in 5 PNG students able to get into tertiary education, there is fear that this will induce corruption http://t.co/jmCIy9j35g
— Keith Jackson (@PNGAttitude) October 26, 2014