Pathway For Grade 8 and 10: PNG Government To Increase Vocational Training Centres from 141 to 325, One LLG One VTC

Policy and documents on TVET

In 2013 there were 141 provincial vocational centres (up from 132 in 2009) and 9 technical and business colleges in Papua New Guinea. The number of colleges excludes Police College, Bible Institutes and others that have opened recently.

In fact, the need to improve Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) was well documented since 2005, evident in TVET policy 2005 [pdf]. The case study  by a Patrol Maino also provided a great deal of insight on expansion of TVET titled Efforts In Reorienting Technical Vocational Education & Training (TVET) System In Papua New Guinea (PNG) To The Global Economy [pdf, 2013]. The documents gave depth to developing TVET programs. 

These written documents explicitly echoed the need for government (who is the driving force for change) to invest in training at vocational level for Grade 8 and Grade 10 school leavers. Had the government and TVET division of education had done it right, there would be a good number of skilled workers in the country by now.

This does not mean either the government or the TVET division had done nothing. Actually they have done some fantastic jobs over the years. But, what is needed now is to take into account the HIGH number of students leaving school at the end of Grade 8 and Grade 10.

There is an urgent need to look into expanding capacity, finding avenues for job placements for vocational trainees and helping them to find their place in the society- an attractive package has to be developed for them now. 

There are no more that 150 semi funded vocational centres and technical secondary schools around - not enough to take in a good number of Grade 8 and 10 drop-outs. As a result, the TVET division must realise how important it has become of late.

The course work and curricula, workshop practicals, work placement and continuous training are the main areas needed both the government and TVET division of education (urgent) attention.

Government to put the money where its mouth is

Is it too late for the government to take an interest in this forgotten generation? The answer is no. It is not (never) too late. The need to harness the power of Grades 8 and 10 school-leavers is increasing as the number of these young people leaving school increases. If this population is left to its own, the nation will see a generation of unskilled young people who are good for nothing, but burdensome. 

Skills learnt early is vital. There is nothing wrong with the existing training provided at vocational and technical schools. The problem is that the national and provincial governments have been doing very little to improve vocational training in the country.

In the past, vocational training centres where set up to cater for the then Grade 6 school leavers. However, with the structural change [1993], Grades 8 and 10 school leavers have been competing for a space at vocational centres. Recent figures showed that 96% of Grade 8 and 94% of Grade 10 students drop out of school. These group of kids have little or no chance to enter a college, or institute or university. Many colleges and technical institutions are taking in Grade 12.

The Grades 8 and 10 are the ones who are in desperate need for attention. These are  the youths who between 15 and 18 years of age. We can not neglect them!

There is a genuine need for the government to develop a strong base by focusing on vocational training for students leaving at Grades 8 and 10. There is a difference between building a skilled and knowledgeable generation, and merely educating a population. Unless (and until) the politicians and education leaders see this difference, their attempt to achieve any development goals will be nothing but a wasted opportunity.

Each Local Level Government (LLG) to have a vocational training centre

To make a difference is to invest in those 15 to 18 years old. Is it too much to ask? Why not every Local Level Government is task with building its own vocational training centre? Why shouldn't each LLG have its own technical secondary school? Papua New Guinea has three hundred and twenty five (325) local level governmental boundaries. A government focused on developing its younger generation must also have 325 vocational centres - 141 is not enough. A responsible government must build 184 more vocational training centres. This is the right thing to do if PNG is to harness the power in this forgotten generation.

I would like to take a look at Pathway for Grade 12 – what is available for them and how the school leavers can be seen to have fitted into the system. This will be the next topic Teach Them How To Fish series on PNG Insight.

***Knowing how many of those institutions are available is not easy as no updated data is available online or I may not have seen any relevant data during my Internet search to compile this post. If you are reading this, you can do your part by including the institutions that are not available here – Wikipedia.

Grades 8, 10 and 12 Students in Papua New Guinea Access vs Retention

Grades 8, 10 and 12 students are on a long Christmas Holiday - three months of rest and respite. Some are heading back to the villages, others to towns and cities - but will there be opportunities in the Apprenticeship and Vocational Training sectors for Grades 8, 10 and 12 students in Papua New Guinea?

Whilst the Grades 8, 10 and 12 Students are enjoying their vocations, they are sure to ask two important questions: 

How have I performed in the national examinations?;  and 

Will I be selected to continue to the next level?

PNG Grades 8, 10 and 12 Students Performance in Examinations

The first question can only be ascertained by each student depending on how good they were leading up to the exams. 

Students' performance in exams can be attributed to several factors such as how well they prepared (were prepared) for the exams as well as Nature and Nurture. 

May the best students be given one of the limited places they rightfully deserve.

This brings me to the second question.

Grades 8, 10 and 12 Students Selections 2023

Based on the proportion of tertiary places available this year and the preceding years,  96% of Grades 8, 92% of Grade 10 and 81% of Grade 12 students will NOT make it to a tertiary institution this year. 

By this, I mean only a select few will end up in universities, colleges, vocational centres and other higher learning set-ups. 

Those fortunate enough to continue should be congratulated. 

They have earned the right to proceed. They passed exams - they can enjoy the privileges (pride) and challenges higher educational institutions bring. 

And deservedly, they should hold their heads up and be proud to continue.

High number of Grades 8, 10 and 12 Students pass out

What about the bulk of students who would not have continued? What will they do? 

It saddened me to think that in the first year of formal education, little or nothing is available to those students. 

What can be done now to take them on board the education train?

It is imperative to note that the planned phasing out of examinations at Grades 8 and 10 will NOT improve the number of students entering tertiary institutions. 

It will further decrease the university access rate (ACCESS), but only maintain the number passing through from Grades 8 to 10 to 12 (RETENTION). 

PNG Grades 8, 10 and 12 stats

In 2015, over 120, 000 grade 8 students sat exams. This number as a percentage of 4500 spaces (at tertiary institutions) is 96%. 

In fact, if the government phases out Grades 8 and 10 examinations, about 120,000 to 150,000 students are likely to end up completing Grade 12. 

The problem of retention is addressed, but the problem of access to higher education is not solved. It remains the same. 

Phasing out Grades 8, 10 and 12 Exams

Other factors needed thorough consideration before exams are phased out are the availability of resources, the number of teachers as well as primary and secondary schools' capacity to hold larger student populations. 

This exercise, if goes ahead, will put a huge strain on schools' ability to function.

It was good news to have heard that the Minister of higher education has given out cheques to several universities in the country to expand their capacities. This shows that there is likely to be an increase in spaces at tertiary institutions. 

But, what is the projection - what number are we talking about in 5 - 10 years' time? 

A mere 20,000 spaces would not be enough to suffice the appetite for higher education. 

Technical and vocational schools way forward

For the sake of reasoning,  if we put an estimate that in the next 5 years 150,000 grade 12 students will vie for a tertiary institution space. 

The spaces increased (from the current 4500) to 10, 000 (then to 20,000 in 2023. 

For it to work, the government needs to improve the university/higher education access rate to over 50% of Grade 12 graduating population. The fact now is that this change will make NO difference as far as access is concerned. 

Papua New Guinea will STILL have a Grade 12 drop-put rate of over 90% in the next 5 to 10 years with this change- the same as today! 

Still, there won't be enough university and college spaces to take in the high number of students. That is why there is a NEED to seriously increase the spaces are technical and vocational schools

Exams are the corner-stone of PNG education system

So the public statements about phasing out examination have to be backed by some foresight. By this, I do not mean make examinations history - no. 

The public examination system has to be strengthened - made rigorous. Address the problem of cheating. Empower Measurement Service Division. Or, come up with alternative measures to overhaul and make examination processes tough - challenging. 

The question of catering for those who are dropping out of the formal education system can be addressed by focussing on Internships, apprenticeship schemes and vocational training. 

Meanwhile, here is what I've posted nearly 10 years (2015) ago on the Key To Addressing Skill Shortage and Grades 8, 10 and 12 Pass-outs. 

Phasing Out Grades 8, 10 and 12 Examinations Must Be Done With Care

Phasing out examinations at Grades 8,10 and 12 can have serious impact on standard of education in the country - it will affect both students' behaviour to learning (study) and teachers' approach to teaching. 

This change (if it happens) will completely revolutionise, for worse or for better, the whole teaching-and-learning process. This change must be done with caution.

It must be done with proper planning and based on proper academic research or a special parliamentary committee findings. I don't think changing the system to meet some UN's Medium Development Goals (MDGs) is the best way. Compulsory education at elementary and primary schools and compulsory education at secondary school have to be differentiated when it comes to discussing educational changes and how each stage is catered for in terms of giving every child the best chance to excel in life.

As learnt from the curriculum change, OBE-1993, a change without clear plan is doomed to fail.Therefore, among the three main changes (Structural change 2016, Curriculum Change 2015, Examination Change) a clear plan must be set in motion prior to implementing it. The details, thereof, must be communicated to all stakeholders so that they also know what is expected, instead of expecting the unexpected.

We (by 'we' I mean the politicians, senior education officials and all stakeholders) must know what is actually changing, and not just about what is changing. So, what is the alternative to phasing out examinations? Will the 'new' assessment style be formal, informal or a bit of both? How will it be carried out and who will be responsible, teachers or Measurement Service Division?

I want to see improvement in the way examinations are conducted, I want to see spaces expanding and more students make it to Grade 12, but phasing-out exams, just,  to let everyone through without a rigorous assessment and or examination system may not be the best thing for our children now and in the future.

Here is what other Papua New Guineans are saying about this change.

INVESTIGATION TASK-FORCE SWEEP UPDATE: PNG Government Must Release K12 million Allocated To ITFS In 2014 and 2015

It is in the public interest to disclose the progress report of Investigation Task Force Sweep (ITFS) investigations. This report contains ITFS’ accomplishments and challenges from August 2011 to present. A copy of this report had been submitted to the Prime Minister and all other respective authorities on 20th October 2015.

The years 2014 and 2015 had been difficult years for ITFS. ITFS faced an onslaught of operational interference arising out of its decision to mount a case against the Prime Minister and other high profile persons in relation to the allegations of official corruption and others.

Complaints and Pending Investigations

The acute financial constraints seriously impaired all fresh and pending investigations. ITFS registered more than 350 cases of fraud, money laundering and all other forms of corruption. ITFS received numerous allegations of inflated contracts and commission structuring recently. ITFS could not progress any of these fresh investigations due to the predicament ITFS is currently subjected to. In due time, should the government allocate funding, we will progress them and inform the respective complainants.

Prosecution Update

ITFS initiated a total of 93 criminal cases. Of this, 12 convictions were secured so far. Apart from the ones serving jail term as listed below, there are cases pending execution of arrest warrants, committal, trial, and verdict on conviction and sentencing. There are also cases that were forestalled by judicial review proceedings in the civil courts. A number of cases had been struck out and/or dismissed as well. ITFS maintains a close track of these cases and facilitates the attendance of witnesses for the respective hearings of these cases.

The Successful Prosecutions so far are listed in the table below.

Case No. Prisoner Offences Committed Status Update

1. Paul Tiensten, Former MP & Minister for National Planning Directed payment of K10m to Travel Air Ltd. Convicted and Sentenced to 9 years Imprisonment with Hard Labour. Serving jail term.

2. Paul Tiensten, Former MP & Minister for National Planning Directed payment of K3.4m to Tol Port Services Ltd. Convicted and sentenced to 4 years imprisonment with hard labour (to be served together with 9 years from 1). Serving jail term.

3. Francis Potape, Member for Komo Magarima Dishonestly approved and received JDP&BPC sitting allowances of K330,000 Convicted and Sentenced to 2 ½ Years with hard labour. Prisoner released by Supreme Court on bail after serving 7 months upon successful appeal. National Court retrial pending. His two co-accused cases are pending trial whilst other co-accused are yet to be arrested and charged.

4. Jabri Kalub Zebedee, Businessman For defrauding K4.75m from the State. Convicted and sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. Serving jail term.

5. Benjamin Salatiel Tobung, Businessman Payment of K7.5m through a company called Metlik Plantations Ltd. Co-accused to Eremas Wartoto. Convicted and sentenced to 6 years imprisonment. Serving Jail term whilst his co-accused case is still pending trial.

6. Charles Aopi, Former Chief Financial Officer of National Parliament Defrauded K150,000 from National Parliament. Convicted and Sentenced to 4 Years Imprisonment. Serving jail term.

7. Newe Lepson, Parliament Staff Co-accused of Aopi Convicted and Sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. Serving jail term.

8. David Kumalau Pondros, Consultant Defrauded K400,000 for a purported jetty project Convicted and Sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Serving Jail term. He has another K6m case pending trial. 

9. Otto Wangilen, Public Servant Co-accused of David Pondros in the K400,000 fraud. Convicted and Sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Serving Jail term.

10. Peter Tokunai, Businessman Defrauded K1.5m for Malaguna Catholic Church. Convicted and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. Serving jail term.

11. Mark Maludu, Senior Public Servant, NDoH For defrauding more than K51,000 Convicted and suspended sentence.

12. Benjamin Selep, Area Medical Store Manager, NDoH Defrauding area medical store Convicted and suspended sentence.

The Office of the Public Prosecutor is commended for the successful prosecutions.

Referrals to Ombudsman Commission for Leadership Actions

A total of fourteen (14) leaders implicated for breach of the leadership code were referred to the Ombudsman Commission for further investigation and action.

Administrative Actions

A total of 28 public servants were recommended for Disciplinary Actions. Most of them were suspended and dismissed as a consequence of our investigations.

Tax Recovery Actions

ITFS has, using the tax powers, raised a total of K242,035,10.00. Of these, K25,546,151.00 had already been paid to Internal Revenue Commission. IRC Debt collection division is working on collecting the outstanding balance owed under the tax assessments after the taxpayer objections are duly accorded.

Proceeds of Crime Recovery

Proceeds of Crime Recovery on ITFS instigated cases stands at K8.3 million. A number of assets and bank accounts had been frozen by Australian Authorities relating to ITFS cases. There is a potential to recover more than this amount once criminal prosecutions are successfully concluded.

The Paraka Related Cases

Most of the cases are being forestalled by various interlocutory and appeal proceedings filed by the various defendants arrested in connection with the investigations into Paul Paraka Lawyers’ alleged illegal settlement of legal bills by the State.

Cases against PM

The cases concerning and relating to the yet-to-be executed arrest warrant against the Prime Minister and number of other senior politicians are currently before the Civil National and Supreme Courts where the criminal warrant is being challenged. The Courts have issued a stay on the execution of the warrants. The hearings are scheduled for this month.

ITFS Politically Compromised?

A number of public statements were made branding ITFS and its members as ‘politically compromised or rogue’, which was one of the reasons used to disband the ITFS team.

The allegations were tested in court, from the District Court all the way to the Supreme Court. In most of those instances, the Courts removed the ‘rogue’ tag placed on ITFS members and placed it on the accusers. For example:

• In OS No. 444 of 2014, the National Court, on a cursory appreciation of the facts, found that the disbanding of ITFS was improper and not in the best interest of the country hence issued an interim stay on the NEC Decision that purported to disband ITFS.

• In OS No. 115 of 2014, The National Court found that “There is in fact no evidence that the current criminal investigations of the plaintiffs are the work of rogue policemen or that the investigations are politically-motivated as described by the Prime Minister in his affidavit.”

• In SCA 87 of 2015, the Supreme Court held that Messrs. Matthew Damaru and Timothy Gitua “maintain strict business discipline as case officers” whereas the Police Commissioner finds comfort in cooperating and collaborating with the Finance Minister James Marape and Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.

Total Funding since 12th August 2011

ITFS received a total of K15.5 million from the Government since its establishment on 12th August 2011 by way of a NEC Decision. That is: - 2011 – K5.8m, 2012 – K3.0m and 2013 – K6.5m.

ITFS was allocated K7 million in 2014 followed by K5 million in 2015 through the Annual Budget. Although Parliament approved those funds, our attempts to draw-down were ignored. ITFS therefore remained defunded for the last two years. In the face of extreme financial drawbacks, ITFS continued to function.

In the 2016 Budget which was passed by Parliament on 3 November 2015, ITFS was allocated no funds.

It is also interesting to note that National Anti-Corruption Task-Force overseeing the establishments of ICAC as well as ICAC itself have no funding allocation in the 2016 National Budget. This body was allocated K20 million in 2013, K20 million in 2014 and K5 million in 2015.

Conclusion

For the K15.5 million that the Government provided to ITFS since its establishment, ITFS had arrested and charged 93 suspects, secured 12 convictions with many more to follow, recovered more than K242 million in tax recovery, proceeds of crime recoveries of funds and assets including restraining of funds and assets in Australia relating to ITFS initiated matters, and recommended many public officials to the Ombudsman Commission and Government Departments (including DPM) for leadership and administrative actions respectively.

ITFS was defunded for the fiscal years 2014 and 2015 despite a National Court Order allowing it to continue its operations. It was very difficult to do much under the circumstances.

We are still following up with the Government for the provision of funds so that we could continue with our operations and complete some of these pending investigations.

Authorized for Release

Sam Koim, LLB[Hons]

Chairman