png educ system comparative

1. PAPUA NEW GUINEA
EDUCATION SYSTEM
Michael De Belen Saudan

3. Papua New Guinea
• Papua New Guinea, in the southwestern Pacific,
encompasses the eastern half of New Guinea and its
offshore islands. A country of immense cultural and
biological diversity, it’s known for its beaches and coral
reefs. Inland are active volcanoes, granite Mt. Wilhelm,
dense rainforest and hiking routes like the Kokoda Trail.
There are also traditional tribal villages, many with their
own languages.

4. Papua New Guinea “Land of the Big Men”
• Full Name: The Independent State of Papua New Guinea
• Population: 8, 508, 680 (as of January 15, 2019)
• Capital: Port Moresby
• Area: 462,840 km²
• Indigenous languages: Over 850 languages
• Gross domestic product: 21.09 billion USD (2017) World
Bank
• Official languages: English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu
• Major Religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs
• Life Expectancy: 61 (men), 66 (women) (UN)
• Main exports: gold, petroleum, copper, coffee, palm oil,
logs

5. PNG Educational System Overview
• In attempting to understand PNG’s education system, it is first and
foremost necessary to become acquainted with Papua New Guinea itself.
By understanding PNG’s both political history and cultural heritage, we
can begin to understand the unique challenges of developing an all-
inclusive education curriculum as well as unpack some of the political
motivations behind educational policy reforms.
• Before the European colonization, the adults in each tribal society in
Papua New Guinea educated their children on practical skills, social
behavior, and spiritual beliefs. In 1873, the London Missionary Society
established the first school to teach islanders to read scripture. After
1884, German and English missionaries established primary schools to
teach Western concepts of morality, the German and English languages,
arithmetic, and Christian doctrine. During the early 1900s, the British
government encouraged missionaries to develop vocational education
programs in Papua New Guinea to produce better farmers, crafts people,
and skilled laborers. In 1914, Australia took control of the German colony
in northeastern New Guinea. With Papua and New Guinea under its
reign, Australia established English as the official language of instruction
and laid the foundation for modern education in Papua New Guinea.

6. Political History
• Papua New Guinea is a country in the Oceania region, just
above Australia and sharing a border with Indonesia. It has a
long colonial history, beginning in 1884 and lasting until 1975.
in 1884, Germany colonized the northern half of modern day
PNG, formerly called New Guinea while the UK colonized the
southern half, called Papua. In 1906, UK Papua was
transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia in 1921 following
WWI, control of German New Guinea was also transferred to
Australia. The territories were governed separately until 1949.
finally, in July 1971, the entire region under Australia’s control
was renamed Papua New Guinea and on September 16, 1975
Papua New Guinea became a sovereign nation state, politically
independent to Australia. However, PNG maintains close ties to
Australia, a contributor of PNG foreign aid.

7. Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
• Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world,
with over 820 indigenous languages, over 10% of the world’s linguistic
diversity. These indigenous languages are called “Tok Ples”, translated
as “Talk Village”. However, PNG officially recognizes 3 National
languages: Motu, English, and Tok Pisin, a pigeon trade language
introduced by the Germans. Tok Pisin is prevalent throughout the country
but particularly in German New Guinea. English is spoken by only to 2%
of the population and more so in former Papua, as well as towns.
• Parly due to colonial heritage, all business, government and higher
education is conducted in English. All tests for matriculation to high
school and university are also conducted to English. This policy puts
PNG children living in remote areas of the country, where Tok Pisin or
Tok Ples dominate everyday life, at a huge disadvantage for
matriculation.
• Along with linguistic diversity comes cultural diversity, religious,
indigenous beliefs, ethnicity, way of life etc. These cultural differences
also developed due to geographical distinctions. PNG is composed od 4
dominate regions. Central, Sepik, Islands and Highlands. The richness of
diversity is vast as many tribes were completely isolated for generations
before coming in contact with each other nearby tribes and outsiders.

8. The Modern System
• Papua New Guinea's education system has three levels:
primary, secondary, and tertiary. The academic year runs from
January to December.
• The primary schools, or community schools, provide six years
of instruction for children 7-12, although attendance is not
compulsory. Most instruction still occurs in English. However, in
1989, the National Department of Education adopted a
language and literacy policy designed to encourage
communities to start local language literacy preschools, convert
first grade into a local language year or a bridging year from
local language literacy to English literacy, or have noncore
subjects (subjects other than language, math, science, and
social studies) taught in the local languages. The 1989
Language and Literacy Policy also supported local language
and cultural instruction at secondary and tertiary schools and
local language literacy programs for adults.

9. • Since 1993, many provinces have established village schools
that focus on local language literacy. The village schools
provide a preprimary level for children as young as five years of
age that teaches the children in their native language. The
schools also encourage the children to become literate in their
local language before learning English.
• About 70 percent of Papua New Guinea's school-age children
receive some formal education, but only two-thirds of those
who enter the first grade complete the sixth.
• Students who reach the sixth grade must pass a national exam
to continue their education. Papua New Guinea maintains two
types of secondary schools: the four-year provincial high
schools, for grades 7-10, and the two-year national high
schools, for grades 11 and 12. Large towns generally have
their own secondary schools, but students from rural areas
often attend provincial boarding schools. English is the
language of instruction at the secondary level.

10. • About 35 percent of pupils who reach sixth grade ultimately transition to the
seventh grade. The low transition rate does not reflect the number of students
who achieve the level necessary to move to the provincial high schools; but
rather, it reflects the limited number of places available to incoming seventh
graders (Department of Education 1991). The provincial high schools base their
acceptance on exam scores and provincial quotas and accept an equal number of
sixth graders from each primary school. Students who do not attend secondary
school can enter two-year vocational schools or continue their education by mail
through the government-operated College of Distance Education.
• Of those who continue to seventh grade, about 67 percent complete the tenth
grade. In the tenth grade students must pass a second national exam to receive a
Secondary School Leaving Certificate. Most end their education after tenth grade,
but about 20 percent enter one of the four national high schools. The retention
rate for the national high schools is about 95 percent. Students who complete
twelfth grade face a third national exam that determines which higher educational
opportunities go to which students. Regardless, most grade twelve graduates
pursue some form of higher education. Students also can enter a two-year
vocational or technical school after tenth grade. Those who complete the upper
secondary level earn a Sixth Form Certificate or a High School Certificate,
depending on the school they attend. A few of the best tenth graders enter a one-
year university preparation program at the University of Papua New Guinea, but
most students gain university acceptance by passing the National High School
Examination at the end of twelfth grade.

11. • As of 1996, a total of 500,000 children were enrolled in primary and
secondary schools. About 70 percent of primary school-aged children
attended school, but only 12 percent of secondary school-aged
children were enrolled. Enrollment ratios vary widely between
provinces and regions. In large cities and towns virtually all children
attend school; but, in some remote highland areas, fewer than 7
percent of children receive any formal education. According to the
1990 census, 23 percent of the rural population completed sixth
grade, 4 percent of the rural population completed tenth grade, and
24 percent of the rural population could read English. By contrast, the
census showed that 56 percent of the urban population completed the
sixth grade, 22 percent completed the tenth grade, and 58 percent
could read English.
• Many children, especially in poor, rural areas, never enroll because
their families cannot afford the school fees, which can equal more
than 50 percent of some families' earnings. Some primary and most
provincial high schools charge fees, while the national high schools
and most postsecondary institutions are free or subsidized with
government scholarships. In 1993, the national government abolished
some of the school fees traditionally paid by parents.

12. • Female Education: Although schooling is open to all citizens,
female enrollment lags behind male enrollment at most levels.
In 1995, about 80 percent of children between seven and
twelve years were enrolled in primary education. But 87
percent of boys in that age group were enrolled compared to
74 percent of girls. That same year, 14 percent of 13-18 year-
olds enrolled in some form of secondary education.
• Enrollment included 17 percent of the boys and 11 percent of
the girls in that age bracket. Girls account for about 38 percent
of all high school students, but only 29 percent of the national
high school students. In 1995, girls represented 32 percent of
the students enrolled in all higher education institutions, but
only 25 percent of the students in one of the nation's four
universities. That same year, women made up 66 percent of
the preprimary teaching staff and 36 percent of the primary-
level teaching staff. Figures for the secondary and tertiary
levels were not available. Literacy rates for women also fall
short. About 62 percent of women age 15 and older could read
and write in 1995, compared to 81 percent of men.

13. • Private & Religious Schools: The International Education Agency is the largest
independent education provider in Papua New Guinea. It was created in 1977 to
manage the schools operated by the Australian and United Nations
administrations before Papua New Guinea's independence.
• The agency operates 24 independent schools and serves more than 5,000
students in preschool through the twelfth grade. All schools, except for one, offer
preschool through grade six and most continue to grade eight. Only three schools,
though, in Lae, Port Moresby, and Mount Hagen, offer ninth through twelfth
grades. The schools do not have a religious affiliation, although, at the
community's request, some offer nondenominational scripture classes on a
voluntary basis.
• More than 300 teachers from Papua New Guinea and other parts of the world
work for the international schools. The International Education Agency also
provides consultant services on school development and review, curriculum
development, and professional development.
• Tuition ranges from K 3,000 to K 20,000 per year. The amount depends on the
training of the teachers at each school, and the general quality of resources.
Between 75 and 80 percent of agency students are Papua New Guinea citizens,
although percentages range from 50 to 100 percent within individual schools. The
remaining students come primarily from Australia, New Zealand, and the
Philippines.

14. • Churches also play a significant role in Papua New
Guinea's educational system. In 1995, churches
operated 20 training schools for nurses and other
community health workers. The Catholic Church was the
leading provider of educational services, running one-
quarter of the community schools and one-sixth of the
provincial high schools. The Evangelical Alliance, the
United Church, the Lutheran Church, the Seventh-Day
Adventists, and the Anglicans also provide educational
services.
• The National Department of Education estimates that the
government provides about 68 percent of lower
secondary education services, churches provide 29
percent, and the international schools provide about 3
percent.

15. • Educational Resources & Materials:
The National Department of Education has provided
textbooks to students since the 1990s. Before then, teachers
relied on syllabi and teaching guides from the Department of
Education's curriculum unit, which outlined what teachers should
teach and how they should teach it. The production of education
materials improved, though, during the last quarter of the
twentieth century, as a result of two loans from the World Bank.
The loans helped pay for primary textbooks in English, math,
health, and community life; and secondary textbooks in English,
math, science, and social studies. Most textbooks still are
published in English; however, the Department of Education has
explored producing resource materials that can be translated
and adapted to the local languages. In addition, the curriculum
unit provides curriculum statements, teachers' guides, in-service
packages, radio broadcasts, videos, posters, science kits,
practical skills and home economics kits, sports equipment,
agricultural tools, and expressive arts equipment. As of the early
1990s, computers were not available to schools.

16. PNG Education Reforms and National
Identity

17. PNG Education Reforms and National
Identity
• Since PNG independence in 1975, the Department of
Education has implemented several educational reforms
in attempting to discover an authentic PNG education
Curriculum and Philosophy.
• Timeline of Reforms:
• Queensland Syllabus – Colonial Education (until 1975)
• Pacific Series Syllabus – shared with Pacific Islands
• Melanesian Series Syllabus – shared with Melanesian Islands
• Outcomes-Based Education – Joint venture of PNG and Australian
Aid (1994-2014)

18. Justification for Reform:
• The rhetoric behind education reform suggests a search for
PNG authenticity as well as to preserve PNG’s “Way of Life”.
• “Before the reform, the PNG curriculum was based on foreign
Western beliefs and ideas mainly to produce Papua New
Guineans to administer the country and to achieve success.
This system of education unfortunately, failed to provide a
useful education for all citizens of PNG.. Teaching the content
was based on the text books and did not encourage reflection
of thoughts, creativity and evaluation. The students were not
taught to think and work independently as well as to provide
opportunities to develop lifelong skills such as problem-solving,
critical thinking, communication and interpersonal skills.
Students were not mentally, socially and culturally challenged
in the old systems.”
• -University of Goroka Teacher’s College Lecture, 2010

19. Justification of Reform
• “The purpose of the reform is to develop an educational
system to meet the needs of Papua New Guinea and it’s
people, which will provide appropriately for the return of
children to the village community, for formal employment
or for continuation to further education and training.”
(National Education Plan, 1996)
• “Our cultural traditions are not being handed down from
generation to generation.”
• “Students will become aware of the social bonds in the
community if they are first taught of the languages of their
communities through activities which socializes people,
such as agriculture, fishing, and community
development.” – Section of National Curriculum
Statement 2002

20. Zooming In: Current Curriculum Reform
(1994-2014: Outcomes- Based Education)
• Among all of the features of the broader education reform there are
three key features concerning the 1994 reform curriculum in PNG.
• 1. Language of Instruction
• The elementary schools use 100% local vernaculars for instructions. Thereafter,
children will begin in a Bilingual program of bridging from vernacular (Tok Ples) to
English. In primary schools children will learn to speak, read and write to English as
well as continue to develop their first language. At secondary schools students
maintain minimal vernacular languages but the medium of instruction will shift more to
English. This differs from old curriculum which were conducted entirely in English
each level of schooling.
• 2. Cultural Relevance
• PNG has a relevant curriculum that is firmly based in the culture and way of life in the
community and provide knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the resource
development needs and opportunities of the community. In practice at the community
school level, this will mean that the language of the community, together with it’s culture,
spiritual and vocational practices will form the basis for the activities in the school. OBE
Education provides much room for flexibility in order to allow for individual tribes and
regions of the country to incorporate local traditions and culturally relevant knowledge into
their curriculum. It is decentralized philosophy of education that grants much autonomy to
individual schools and teachers on what can be taught in the classroom.

21. • 3. Relevant skill for life
• Skills education includes “many competencies which people need,
in order to successfully carry out their physical and mental activities
and to sustain or improve their livelihoods. The school curriculum
should aim to develop traditional skills such as fishing and farming,
as well as skills for the community development, small business
and personal health.
• WHAT IS OUTCOMES-BASED EDUCATION?
• Outcomes-Based Education is a way of planning, delivering and
evaluating teaching and learning that requires teachers and students to
focus their attention and efforts on desired end results of education
particularly when those end results are expressed in terms of student
learning. It is about student-centered learning, it is about teachers
focusing on learning processes and identifying progress being made
with full control over the design of material plans and programs all for
the of facilitating learning… it depends heavily on the creative ability of
each individual teacher.

22. Outcomes-Based Education
• Given the opportunity, time and flexible teaching programs, the
majority of students should be able to achieve these outcomes. There
is a challenge for teachers as well. Teachers need to be creative and
flexible making good use of the resources available to them within the
community and local environment.
• OBE expects education system to throw out traditional curricula,
courses and programs and to start from the exit outcomes (end of
schooling outcomes) to define what the schools will touch and how
will they teach it. Subjects and approaches are seen only as means of
achieving the exit outcomes. It has a global movement, however,
each education system is implementing an approach that is
consistent with their way of life and their particular cultural values. So
there are as many variations as there are countries implementing an
outcomes-based approach…
• Vague? Yes that is the point. These are most precise descriptions of
OBE education I could find after scouring tons of documents. It is a
philosophy without concrete direction as to how to proceed with
teaching and learning. Teachers are given free reign as to how they
access that learning occurs.

23. OLD (Colonial vs New Curriculum)
• Old Curriculum System: Advantages
• -English was the only language of instruction. Students learned English well.
• -A teaching program was planned for all subjects in the Teacher’s guide.
• -The text book was in detail and easy to understand.
• -Corporal Punishment was practiced
• -It encouraged students to work hard to get a good paying job.
• Disadvantaged:
• -Separated students from their language, culture and community activities.
• -Made children feel like failures who no longer valued village life, traditions
and obligations.
• Had the curriculum which was not relevant to the needs of Papua New
Guinea
• Did not prepare students to use the resources at home in the communities.
• Did not allow all children to go to school and did not encouraged children to
stay in school.

24. New Reform Curriculum
• ADVANTAGES
• Encourage gender equality
• Teaches children more about their language
• Makes children feel good about themselves and encourages them to value and respect
village life, traditions and obligations.
• Provide bilingual education to develop children’s language skills in both their own language
and English
• Prepares children to use the resources in their community
• To maintain the culture of PNG
• Integrates academic and practical education and is not just a way to paid employment.
• Children are active learners.
• DISADVANTAGES:
• Teaching programs are not outlined or planned to the teacher’s guide
• Teachers have a hard time planning for each subjects.
• There are a lot of disciplinary problems because corporal punishment is not allowed.
• There are not enough teaching materials.
• ( Informations were given by the teacher that the researcher interviewed)

25. Vision 2050
• Vision: “We (PNG) will be a Smart, Wise, Fair, Healthy
and Happy Society by 2050”.
• Mission: We will be ranked in the Top 50 countries in the
UN Development Index by 2050, creating opportunities
for personal and national advancement through economic
growth, smart innovative ideas, quality service and
ensuring a fair and equitable distribution of benefits in a
safe and secure environment for all citizens.”

26. Global Trends and Challenges
• The Impact of Globalization: the Phenomena of massification
which includes greater social mobility for a rapidly increasing
global population.
• Inequality in Access: the highly competitive higher education
sector, and the scarce places and scholarship in Universities.
• Increased student mobility due to open borders in
accessing higher education either within higher education or
through the platform of ICT.
• Teaching, Learning and Curricula Innovations: quality
assurance, accountability and qualification frameworks,
financing higher education and the public-good, private good
debate – the private revolution of private providers of higher
education.
• The Asian Century: the challenge of creating PNG educated
population with a regional and global mindset.

27. 2009 2010 2011 2012
Grade 8 70,591 89, 340 89,681 98,983
Grade 10 47,129 54,915 63,989 74,561
Grade 12 11,600 12,261 13,733 14,942
Total 129,320 156,877 167,403 188,487
Number of School Graduates by Exit point
Source: Measurement Service Branch, Department of
Education, 2013

28. Higher and Technical Education
Graduates – 2007-2010
2007 2008 2009 2010
University
Graduates
3461 3503 3783 4208
Non
University
Graduates
3730 4027 3960 3734
Total
Graduates
7371 7530 7743 7942
Source: Resource Inventory Data and Annual Surveys
of Higher Education, 2011

29. Number of Education Distributed in PNG
• In the 1980s, up to year 12 (matriculation) there were:
• 2600 community schools – grades 1 to 6
• 120 provincial high schools – grades 7 to 10
• 5 national high schools – the only institutions offering full-
time grades 11 and 12
• The College of Distance Education – grades 7 to 10
• The Institute of Distance and Continuing Education
(matriculation studies)
• Limited private education provision – pre-school to grade
12

30. Reformed Education Structure The Structure
of the Education System in Papua New
Guinea is Illustrated by the diagram below

31. Parent’s Responsibility
• Parents are responsible for the education of their children.
• The payment of school fees is a contribution by parents in sharing the cost of educating their
children.
• The set fee is an estimate of the average amount per student that a school needs to budget
in order to stay open for the full school year.
• The National Education Board sets maximum fee limits in order to guide provincial education
authorities to set realistic fees.
• The maximum fee limits take into account the need to keep costs to parents as low as
possible, but at the same time provide schools and colleges with sufficient funds for their
operational costs.
• Parents must honor their obligations to contribute to their children's education by meeting
their share of the costs, either in cash installments building materials or food for boarding
school.
• The decision as to how much should be paid in "cash" and what should constitute "in kind"
will be left to the school boards to decide. Schools be responsible in collecting fees to meet
the costs.

32. • The 6 Universities and the main campus of each in
alphabetical order:
• Divine Word University in Madang

33. • Pacific Adventist University in Port Moresby

34. • University of Goroka in Goroka

35. • University of Natural Resources and Environment in Vudal
with Associated campuses in Popondetta, Kavieng and
Sepik

36. • University of Technology (Unitech) in Lae.

37. PNG’s Education
• It is most commonly known that education is limited within
the rural areas of Papua New Guinea due to less
infrastructure developments.
• The dilemma is that the education system has been
expected to provide a relevant education for many
different sections of society.
• In the same way, current universities can only select a
handful of so many applicants.

38. In Future
• In addition, it must increase the salary of teachers. PNG
still lack teachers in all schools and the major reason is
unsatisfactory salary.
• Education is a right for all children of PNG and the
government must continue to implement reform to ensure
our children can attend school regardless of their
economic situation.

39. Conclusion
• Accessing quality education is an ongoing challenge for
parents in PNG. By partnering with the communities they must
empower school leaders, teachers and children to shape their
own culture.
• Parents must also contribute to the education of their children
by assisting teachers with discipline.
• It is the conscious act of sharing responsibilities with teachers
for the development of the younger generation in order that
they become a vibrant force in our nation’s development.
• Improving delivery of education services in rural and remote
areas, strengthening in the vocational education and training
sector to support appropriate courses and to make better use
of partnerships with the private sector and community
agencies, and securing adequate government support for the
reform to manage the enrolment growth.