Demand for higher education rises in PNG

As Papua New Guinea’s population increases, the demand for education at all levels is also rising. The country is starting to build the infrastructure and train the educators necessary to cater for this large group of students. Even so, outside assistance is welcome in terms of funding and managerial assistance.

Human development through education is one of the country’s foundational principals. In 1986 a Philosophy of Education was amended to PNG’s national constitution. The philosophy recognised that the nation’s goals and principles are based on the concept of integral human development, and that an education should impart citizens with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for successful communication and numeracy in the workplace, as well as social and spiritual development.

Standards Based System

PNG’s basic education system is structured along the 2-6-6 model, with two years of elementary education followed by six years each of primary and secondary education. In 2011 the government announced a change from an outcomes-based education model (OBE) to a standards-based education (SBE) model in an attempt to improve education quality, following widespread complaints that classroom learning was ineffective under the OBE model. The SBE curriculum is expected to advance the use of testing and improve governance. Despite some resistance from teachers and administrators, who have raised concerns about a lack of preparedness, awareness and training, the Department of Education is planning a phased implementation for SBE, with elementary schools to grade five converting to it in 2015, grades six to nine in 2016, and grades 10-12 by 2017.

International schools are also a presence in PNG’s education system. These schools provide private education that can begin as early as pre-school and continue through to grade 12, with the number of years offered differing for each school. The not-for-profit International Education Agency (IEA) of PNG operates 19 international schools and vocational institutions in the country. Around 80% of IEA teachers and 90% of students are Papua New Guineans, with the bulk of the remaining student population consisting of students of expatriate families.

These private international schools function as important stop-gaps in education provision when government schools fall short. In addition, they are able to offer placements for students who might otherwise leave the system altogether.

A tuition-fee free (TFF) system was introduced in 2012, in which the government subsidises the fees of students in public elementary, secondary and vocational institutions, as well as in special education institutions and distance-learning schools. The TFF system aims to improve the quality and equity of education by providing better access to schools, increasing retention rates and strengthening management skills. In 2012 gross enrolment in primary and secondary education was 114.2% and 40.2%, respectively, according to data from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Net enrolment in primary education was 86.8%, according to UN statistics. Of the pupils who enter first grade, more boys (83.9%) than girls (79.1%) will complete their primary-level schooling. The literacy rate among people aged 15-24 stood at 71.2% in 2012.

Funding

The government spent 5.2% of GDP on education in 2012, or about $200m. The TFF system experienced a variety of administrative and distribution challenges in 2014 and 2015, with some school administrators claiming not to have received their funding in a timely manner.

In April 2015 the government launched an official investigation into the reasons for these bottlenecks. A separate investigation into teacher’s pay and leave entitlements was launched in February 2015. Despite such bumps in the road, the PNG government has continued to roll out the TFF system and disburse payments to schools across the country.

In addition, the government is rehabilitating infrastructure in several universities, including the University of Papua New Guinea. The total allocation for the redevelopment is PGK62.5m ($23.7m).

Higher Education 

The responsibility for policy planning, management, coordination and delivery of higher education in PNG lies with the Ministry for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, and the Commission for Higher Education.

The country has four public universities: the University of PNG, in Port Moresby; the University of Goroka (UOG), in Goroka; PNG University of Technology, in Lae; and the University of Natural Resources and Environment, in East New Britain. PNG also has two church-run universities: Pacific Adventist University, in Port Moresby, and Divine Word University (DWU), which has campuses in Port Moresby, Madang, Mount Hagen and Wewak, and is supported by government funding but is entirely privately administered.

One of the government’s development policy goals is to increase access to higher education. The strategy is aimed at growing the country’s currently small higher education sector by encouraging private players to complement the public sector’s participation. In this, the government is eager to partner with private higher education institutions (HEIs) to supplement its public universities, colleges and vocational schools. The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology works closely with private sector providers to supply further higher education opportunities to the increasing number of students wanting to access such education.

The country has seen a surge in the number of students applying for tertiary education as a result of both the TFF policy and the brisk rate of population growth. Indeed, about 138 regional and national high schools produce grade 12 graduates each year, and every year the number of students graduating increases. In 2014 the number of students graduating from secondary schools increased to 21,000.

Growing Demand

PNG’s HEIs have limited space to cater to the increase in the number of students and are struggling to absorb the majority of these grade 12 graduates. Of the country’s more than 20,000 grade 12 students who completed their secondary school education in 2014, only 5628 have been offered places in PNG tertiary institutions in 2015, according to Australian government data.

To deal with this shortfall, the government has directed the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology to expand the HEI sector, while maintaining and improving the quality of PNG’s HEIs. “Capacity is a serious issue for our sector and often in the past money went back to the development partners unutilised,” Joe Williams Lalie, the executive director of the IEA, told OBG. “I believe the private sector can fill up some of these gaps, as institutions like the IEA offer a good foundation in primary and upper primary education, and technical and further education, partnering with the government in providing basic education to the masses.”

On a positive note, more HEIs are seeking quality assessment through accreditation. For now, that comes from the Commission for Higher Education, but under the Higher Education General Provisions Act 2014, that function will become the remit of the National Higher and Technical Education Board. The act repealed the 1983 Higher Education Act and replaced the Commission for Higher Education and the Office of Higher Education with the National Higher and Technical Education Board as the agency for quality assessment and accreditation. In addition, it established the Department of Higher Education, Research and Science Technology (DHERST).

Private Partnerships

DHERST is actively encouraging both current and potential private higher education providers to more actively participate in PNG’s provision of quality higher education. To signify a new beginning for PNG’s tertiary education sector and assist prospective HEI providers, the government has tasked the department to work on attracting and collaborating with private institutions. To accomplish this, DHERST has revised policies and procedures and invested heavily in the country’s higher and technical education sectors.

In March 2015 DWU and the PNG University of Technology signed a memorandum of understanding to share resources and staff. The partnership is set to extend to conducting joint research projects, supervising postgraduate students and enhancing professional skills development. The collaboration between the two universities is also expected to help achieve the government’s goals for delivering quality higher education and increasing the number of student places available in tertiary institutions.

The country also has a variety of tertiary institutions offering technical and vocational education and training (TVET). In 2013 PNG had nine technical and business colleges, and 141 vocational centres. These include the National Polytechnic Institute at Lae, the West New Britain Technical College, Bougainville Technical College and secretarial colleges in Port Moresby and Goroka. In 2014, five new institutions were accredited by DHERST. These included the Institute of Business Studies, the Institute of Banking and Business Management, the International Training Institute, Enga Nursing College and Sonoma Adventist College. In 2015 it is expected that more private tertiary institutions will achieve accreditation, increasing the options for graduating grade 12 students wishing to continue their education.

Research Rankings

Research of varying types is undertaken by public, private, ecumenical and non-profit institutions. PNG’s leading public policy and development think tank is the National Research Institute, an independent government statutory authority that receives annual governmental budgetary support. Moreover, the PNG University of Technology serves as the country’s only technological institution, and the PNG Institute of Medical Research forms the research arm of the Department of Health.

Independent research is carried out by a privately funded think tank, the Institute of National Affairs; an NGO, the Wau Ecology Institute; and an industry affiliate, the PNG Cocoa and Coconut Research Institute. Finally, the Melanesian Institute, an ecumenical research, teaching and publishing institute, focuses on research related to the Melanesian peoples.

Academic Publications

A key measure of tertiary education quality and research capabiliy is the number of research papers a country publishes each year. In recent years, the Centre for Natural Resources, Research and Development (CNRRD) at the School of Science and Technology at UOG has published 40 research papers in international and national scientific journals. CNRRD’s research activities have increased considerably and are expected to grow further after the allocation of a supply of new high technology equipment funded by DHERST.

Costing around PGK500,000 ($189,200), the equipment includes technologies essential to carrying out research in a contemporary laboratory such as a high performance liquid chromatography system, a rotary evaporator, a real-time polymerase chain reaction DNA analyser and an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. These upgrades to the school’s research capacity are expected to contribute to the country’s research rankings as well as its ability to attract researchers to its institutions.

Technological Solutions

Education NGOs and civil society organisations (CSOs) operating in the country include Health, Education, Livelihood and Participation; the Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International; the PNG Teachers’ Association; and Save the Children.

These NGOs and CSOs have been actively applying technological solutions to some of PNG’s educational problems. One innovative project to encourage learning English in rural schools was headed by volunteer organisation VSO. In partnership with the Department of Education, VSO trialled a research project, called SMS Stories, to determine whether daily mobile phone text message stories can improve English teaching and student literacy in the country’s rural primary schools.

The rationale for the project was that although teaching materials and textbooks are in short supply in rural schools, almost every teacher has a mobile phone. The SMS Stories project took advantage of this technology by texting a daily lesson plan and short story to teachers, who then wrote the story out on a blackboard and taught it to their classes. Student literacy was assessed before and after the trial, and the results showed that students in SMS Stories classes experienced a 50% increase in English-language literacy. In fact, SMS Stories was so successful that the stories and lesson plans have been included in the new national curriculum. The cost, PGK2 ($0.8) per student, will likely decrease as the project is taken up more broadly.

Leveraging more technological resources, the Department of Education will in 2016 adopt a programme to enhance the quality of education in rural schools by placing televisions in classrooms. The Project for Enhancing Quality in Teaching through TV (EQUITV), originally spearheaded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), saw mathematics and science lessons broadcast to rural schools participating in the project. EQUITV has generally been seen as a successful distance-learning project, and now JICA plans to develop mathematics and science curricula for PNG’s schools.

Helping Hands 

Creating a large skilled labour force is an important component of the country’s long-term growth goals. As of November 2014, PNG had about 36 private training providers registered with the National Training Council.

The curricula of these schools run the gamut from mining to finance, agribusiness, hospitality and professional development. With the number of grade 12 graduates overwhelming the tertiary system, these TVET schools are an increasingly popular choice for graduates and school-leavers that are looking to continue their education.

“Without private training providers, how can the government accommodate those who drop out from grade 10 or 12?” Max Kuri, the principal of Kumul Training Institute at Waigani, asked at a recent graduation ceremony. “[The] government draws up big policies but is slow in implementing [them] and [training schools] step in to help in areas where the government cannot help. We are the government’s hands and feet,” Kuri continued.

In addition to TVET, distance learning provides an alternative for students who have left school. The World Bank-funded Flexible and Open Distance Education (FODE) project delivers courses in science, mathematics, English and social science principally through correspondence-based distance learning, with sporadic support from tutors and teachers at its provincial centres. The $6m project, the only one of its kind in the public sphere for upper primary and secondary school leavers, began in 2011 and runs until 2016. In that time, it has proved to be a resounding success among the country’s out-ofschool youth. Currently, about 46,000 students are actively enrolled in FODE classes, a significant figure when evaluated against the active enrolment in PNG’s formal secondary education sector, which numbers approximately 65,000 students.

FODE is considered a success despite issues such as inadequate resources and technical support. For these reasons, FODE’s goals until the end of the project have been whittled down from a much larger scope to three main objectives: support curriculum development for all subjects for grades seven through 12, extend internet connectivity between FODE headquarters in Port Moresby and its 22 provincial centres, and provide training in project management, monitoring and evaluation.

Outlook

NGOs and private funders are collaborating closely with the Department of Education and DHERST to implement wide-ranging changes to the provision of education in the country, both in its urban and rural areas. The task is challenging but early reports show promising results. As the country becomes wealthier as a result of its mineral and liquefied natural gas deposits, it is essential that no one is left behind on PNG’s path towards prosperity and innovation. Now is the time to start planning for that future, and a high-quality education for all of PNG’s citizens is the right tool needed to achieve it.