Quality Education: Secretary Recounts Achievements | Papua New Guinea Education Department

INTRODUCTION

On behalf of the Department of Education, I send Christmas Greetings to all our students and their families, teachers and school administrators and our important stakeholders like the development partners, churches, Non-Government Organizations (NGO) and service providers who supported us in our efforts to provide quality education and training for our children in Papua New Guinea.

I acknowledge the minister for education Hon. Joseph Yopyyopy for his elevation during the change of government and taking up the challenge with the Ministry as a political head. He has served humbly for the past 6 to 7 months with patience and with a spirit of servanthood.

We acknowledge the services of all the officers who passed on this year while providing vital services in their capacities and being committed to the education sector.

Also, at this juncture, we recognize and salute the retirees who will leave the Education Department for their commitment, dedication and tireless effort for their roles and responsibilities in the development of the education sector.

This year a total of eighteen (18) officers will be retiring while the second batch of retirees will leave next year (2020).

Our vision is to provide quality education and training to every citizen in the country. This year we have aspired and advocated our overarching theme to ‘Christian and Values Education for a Better Future.’

We exist to serve the parents, teachers, students and schools so that every Papua New Guineans is given a fair opportunity in education to achieve a better future.

On behalf of the Minister and the Office of the Secretary, I like to acknowledge and thank everyone for contributing to the long-term vision that is to improve the quality of education to every citizen for a better future.

We as public servants are here to serve our people in good and bad times, in rough and calm times, in happy and sad times. We survive to serve our people.

I’m grateful and satisfied that with the guidance of GOD Almighty and the leadership of the Minister, Top Management, line managers, staff and with the partner organizations, development partners and of course the spouses and children with your support and perseverance, we have all worked hard to make this year a success.

We have achieved a lot in terms of policy development and implementation as we remain resilient and strong despite the challenges.

ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2019

Let me highlight some of the accomplishments made this year.

First, the development and implementation of Standard Based Curriculum which we started in 2015. I am pleasured to announce that by 2020 we will complete the whole cycle of the SBC.

This year the officers have worked tirelessly with the leadership of Mr Walipe Wingi, ‘Mrs Annemaria Kona and Mr Steven Tandale for ensuring that the Secondary school curriculum is completed. We thank CDD for your patience and hard work for the completion of this important task despite the challenges faced.

All the curriculum materials that are developed is PNG made. It is something we all must be proud off for the children in the country.

Secondly, we acknowledge that work put in by the Policy & Planning Division for spearheading the ‘1-6-6 school structure’ and completion of the next ‘10-year Education Plan’.

Also, the completion of the ‘Corporate Plan’ which the Minister launched and the implementation of the ‘School Learning Improvement Plan (SLIP).’

Thirdly, to the Guidance and Counselling Division and the leadership for the development of the ‘Scout Policy’ and the ‘Behaviour Management Policy.’

Credits go to the Research & Revaluation Division, Policy & Planning Division, and Guidance Division and other line divisions that contributed enormously to develop the ‘Early Childhood Policy.’ The policy will be launched by the Minister before the end of the year.

Another milestone policy that was developed for the Secondary sector is the ‘National Schools of Excellence Policy.’ The policy is already approved by the National Executive Council and will be launched soon.

TVET Sector also has finalized and updated the ‘Technical Secondary Schools Policy.’ The National Examinations held this year was a success with no major problems.

The Finance Division must be thanked for commitments, despite the pressure in sorting all our claims. They worked tirelessly to ensure our tasks flow smoothly.

I personally acknowledge the commitment everyone in the department has put in. Next year all the divisions will have increases in their recurrent budgets. For example, the Curriculum Development Division’s budget will increase to cater for development, publishing and distributions of school materials.

Likewise, the Guidance Division will ensure that inspectors visit schools throughout the country.

In Tuition Fee Free (TFF) we have almost dispatched K600 million except for the last K100 million that is being held back to be released in early 2020. The TFF team in the department and the provinces must be acknowledged for making sure schools get their allocations.

This year we have decentralized the TFF functions to the provinces. We had successfully given the functions to 5 provinces namely New Ireland, East New Britain, Milne Bay, Morobe and Enga. These provinces were able to ensure all their schools received their funds.

The Department will be passing on the functions to other provinces in the country who are ready to take on the responsibilities.

Lastly, the Department has really embraced the advancement of technology. This year we have developed the ‘Document Management System Application.’ We are now converting all our hard copies of documents to e-copies so all our documents can be accessed by the press of the computer button.

We have also developed and launched “My Payslip Application’ The public servants and teachers can now access their current payslips online. ‘My PNG School Application’ is another intervention that is now been implemented and rolled out with officers from headquarter visiting provinces to impart the use of the system.

With the NID project, we have almost 30,000 teachers registered and working closely with the NID office to ensure all the remaining teachers are recorded. In 2020 all teachers will be required to attach their photos and NID numbers when submitting their resumption forms.

As many teachers have not yet received their NID this will take time however, photos will be a requirement on the forms next year.

CONCLUSION

I would like to conclude by once again acknowledge and thank the many long-serving officers and teachers who retire this year for your commitment and dedication to the education sector and wish you well in your future endeavours.

The onus is now on us to embrace the Government’s education developmental agendas to convalesce education for the betterment of the children of PNG into the future.

As we head into the New Year, I wish for all of us to share the same spirit of togetherness, ownership and teamwork to further enhance education to meet our overall goal of providing quality education and training for all.

Christmas is the time where families get together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ joyously and peacefully.

Therefore, I wish you all a blessed and safe festive celebration and a prosperous happy new year 2020. May GOD Almighty continue to bless Papua New Guinea.

DR. UKE KOMBRA

PhD SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION

Education Ministry Pledged to Deliver Quality Education - Minister's Statement | Papua New Guinea Education Department

INTRODUCTION 

As we are closing the 2019 academic year, I would like to thank the hardworking students, teachers, parents, communities, churches and other supporting agencies for all your tireless effort in contributing to a very successful and tremendous academic year for all of us. 

Without your commitment and willingness in doing things, we would not achieve the things that we have achieved throughout this year.

I would like to thank and commend our provincial and district education officers for their time and commitment to ensuring that quality and important education services are delivered to our schools right down to the districts.

I also thank officers at the Office of Libraries and Archives and Teaching Service Commission for their hard work.

My sincere gratitude also goes out to all our stakeholders, partners especially donor partners, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), and International Development Organisations including:

• Australian High Commission, 

• the European Union, 

• JICA, 

• NZAID, 

• UNESCO, 

• UNICEF and many others for their continuous support in making sure we deliver the best and quality education needed in this country. 

It is important to note that education is an investment and foundation for national development for the future of our children. Our vision for quality education and high standards is setting the benchmark in all areas of education and efforts will be focused on this trend to see better results.

STANDARD BASE EDUCATION (SBE) or / STANDARD BASE CURRICULUM (SBC) 

The Department is looking at the new education reform from Objective-Based Education (OBE) to Standard-Based Curriculum (SBC). The development of SBC is on target and the department is focusing on aligning another component of the education sector accordingly to achieve high-quality education standard results.

 Also, there are ongoing activities including 

• Teacher Training, 

• School Governance, Management and Leadership, 

• Student Behaviour and Attitude,

• Research and Monitoring, 

• Consultation and Awareness that the department is rolling out to support the implementation of SBC. 

Teaching and teaching practices are the first component that will change to fully implement SBC. Teachers' colleges will incorporate their study programs in line with the newly developed curriculum. 

Teachers graduating from teacher’s colleges at the end of both preservice and in-service will be fully equipped with the knowledge and skills of implementing SBC.

In the full implementation of SBC, the department is also expecting provinces, districts, LLGs and schools to create their own policies so that standard practice is maintained at all levels of education in the country. 

This year, the new Citizenship and Christian Values Education (CCVE) subject has been taught in schools. I believe this will enhance the social, mental and physical character development of our children. 

In addition, there will be Boys Scout and Girl’s Guides to be introduced in schools as compulsory subjects. This subject will be taken after school hours on weekends.

1-6-6 SCHOOL STRUCTURE 

It is the government’s policy that all children must complete elementary education up to grade 12 and no child drop out.

The 13 years of education under 1-6-6 is a step forward in providing the opportunity for all children to have access to 13 years of quality education from grade 1 to grade 12 by 2030. 

The implementation of this structure will result in phasing out of elementary school. The preparatory grade in elementary school will be in preschool. 

Children will have 

• 1 year Elementary education, 

• 6 years of Primary education and 

• another 6 years Secondary education. 

Grades 1 to 6 at the primary level. Grades 7 and 8 in Junior High School with grades 9 and 10. Senior High School in grades 11 and 12.

This new school structure under the National Education Plan (NEP) is more focused on delivering quality education and addressing issues like school access, retention and equity.

QUALITY TEACHER TRAINING 

Under the Alotau Accord II, Quality Teacher Training has been the priority for the government. The reform in the education system requires a more holistic approach in delivering quality education. 

Hence, teachers will be trained and fully equipped with the knowledge and skills required in delivering quality education through the implementation of the new structure. 

Pre-service and in-service programs will be rolled out for teachers to upgrade their qualifications from Elementary to Primary and from primary to Secondary respectively as they take on board the responsibilities of the new structure. 

The teachers are the key contributors to child’s learning and development and so I want to see more qualified teachers teaching in schools.

TUITION FEE FREE 

Education continues to remain the government’s number one priority since the implementation of the Tuition Fee Free Policy in 2012 by the previous government. The Government’s funding under the TFF Policy since 2012 is close to K4 billion. 

A total of 11, 194 registered schools in PNG are benefitting from the program with an enrolment of over 2 million students in all our Elementary, Primary, Secondary, National High, TVET Vocational, FODE, Inclusive and Permitted Schools. 

This year, the TFF funding allocation is K616 million. A total of K432 million has been released to the Department with an outstanding payment of K193.2 million yet to be released.

The money that has been released to the department has been paid to all schools including: 

• Elementary Schools, 

• Primary Schools, 

• Secondary Schools, 

• Provincial High Schools,

•  National High Schools, 

• FODE, and 

• inclusive of Education Resource Centres throughout the country. 

The TFF policy name is now changed to the ‘Government Tuition-Free Subsidy’ (GTFS) policy. The next year, the GTFS will be a shared responsibility between the government and the parents which means that the government will allocate 63.4% and the parent will cater for the other portion of 36.6%.

I thank the Marape-Steven government for continuing to support the TTF policy and we will continue to work alongside to achieve the maximum outcome.

TVET EXPANSION 

The expansion of the Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) sector will accommodate the increasing number of school leavers after grade 12. 

Currently, we are looking at having one multi-technical college at each of the 89 districts and two polytechnic institutions in the four regions. 

At present, we have three new technical colleges in Southern Highlands, West New Britain and Simbu province and one Polytechnic institution in Morobe province. 

The Department will continue to work alongside with the other provinces to convert some of the existing Vocational Centers to technical colleges soon.

E-LEARNING/ ICT 

For the next 10 years, starting this year, the Ministry has come up with strategies to ensure that national, provincial and district education systems are operational, utilizing appropriate information technology that will allow schools and teachers to focus on improved student learning outcomes. 

We will embrace technology to enhance learning such as E-Library and E-Learning to E-textbooks and management systems. 

The take-up of appropriate IT systems to improve efficiency and productivity such as the My PNG School and My Payslip applications are not an option but necessary.

NEXT 10 YEAR EDUCATION PLAN FOR 2020 - 2029 

The next 10 years plan period coincides well with the current government’s 10-year goal and aspiration to TAKE BACK PNG AND TO GIVE QUALITY EDUCATION TO ALL AND NO ONE IS BEHIND. 

Under this new 10-year plan, the ministry has considered another three (3) priority areas in addition to the existing six (6) priority areas of the last plan to address the issues in those areas. These areas include; 

• Early Childhood Education to prepare children to advance in preparatory schools. 

• Equity to address the barriers that prevent children from attending schools Continue from such as sex and gender, children with disabilities, children left out of school and children in remote areas, and 

• Christian and Citizen Values that will allow children to have a sense of who they are and where they come from in respect to Christian principles, their customs, culture and beliefs.

All in all, quality education is relevant and therefore useful to the lives of Papua New Guineans and is the key to how well our education system will contribute to the future of our nation to be the Richest Black Christian Nation on earth.

CONCLUSION 

To finish off I take this opportunity to announce that the first time we have successfully carried out the national examination without any embezzlement. I thank all those responsible for ensuring this accomplishment. Well done and let us maintain this benchmark for next year and onwards. With that once again, I thank all stakeholder for your contribution to the many success of this year.

And I look forward to a more exciting journey with you next year. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Prosperous New Year. 

Thank you.

HON. JOSEPH YOPYYOPY Minister for Education

Press release Dec

TFF cash component payments of K385 million to October 2019

The Department of Education has so far received a total of K385 million from the Department of Finance to pay schools the Tuition Fee Free payments.

The release of K20 million at the end of September and an additional K40 million at the beginning of October brings the total amount released to the Department to K385 million so far.

The K60 million released recently has been paid to schools starting at the beginning of October to the Elementary, Primary, Community, Secondary, Provincial High Schools, National High Schools and Vocational Schools throughout the country.

This is the first payment for Term 3, 2019.

The school headteachers, principals and Boards of Managements are urged to budget and spend the money wisely so it can last until the next payment is received.

“The current policy has been reviewed by the Department and my office is reviewing it before it will be presented to Cabinet for its endorsement,” he said.

Education Secretary Dr Uke Kombra thanked the schools for their patience.

He acknowledged and thanked the Government for continuing to support the TFF Policy, in releasing funds to ensure that schools continue to provide education services.

READ ABOUT THE PNG GOVERNMENT'S NEW TUITION FEE SUBSIDY POLICY (CLICK HERE)

Australia Scholarships for PNG Secondary School Students

The Minister for Education Hon. Joseph Yopyyopy and the Australian High Commissioner to PNG Bruce Davis formally agreed on Papua New Guinea’s participation in the Pacific Secondary School Scholarships Program commencing in 2020 during the signing at the Australian High Commission building on 17th December 2019.

This scholarship program will enable students from PNG to build lifelong connections with Australia and help develop their skills to contribute fully to PNG’s development, thereby enhancing its sustainable economic growth.

As currently designed, the scholarship will support PNG students to obtain a senior school certificate and possibly an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank if desired. 

The first cohort of students will commence in year 10 in Australia in July 2020.

Schooling will be delivered by NSW and Queensland state governments’ existing international education programs, which are supported by a rigorous Australian regulatory framework for quality assurance, child protection and welfare.

Secondary school scholarships to Australia will complement the secondary school partnerships established under the PNGAus Partnership Secondary Schools initiative, launched by Minister Joseph Yopyyopy and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne on 26th August 2019.

The Partnerships between 24 PNG and Australian schools are strengthening teaching and learning at schools around PNG.

Minister Yopyyopy thanked the Australian Government for continuing to support PNG through education and stressed that this is the focus of the current government to take back PNG.

He said PNG will continue to work closely in partnership with the Australian Government in similar schemes in future and like to see many young Papua New Guineans grasp the opportunity to better themselves and help in the development of the country.

The Australian High Commissioner to PNG Bruce Davis said Australia has been supporting education at all levels.

He alluded that the current Prime Minister James Marape has been strongly emphasizing technical & vocational education. This is an area that would be looked at also.

Mr. Davis said they will assist where possible and will be in line with PNG’s own developmental priorities.