Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE

Sexual violence forcing girls out of school

IRIN NEWS

SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST YOUNG GIRLS, and the shame and stigma that follows, is forcing many out of school and others into early marriage, a recent study by Médecins Sans Frontières shows.

MSF, one of PNG’s main providers of medical and psychological assistance to survivors of family and sexual violence, said that from 2008 to 2011, a significant proportion of patients who received treatment as a result of violence were children, some under the age of five.

In the rural settlement of Tari, 31% of those who reported violence were between five and 12 years old. In Lae, 26% percent were between the ages of 13 and 17.

Almost half of those reporting sexual violence in Lae from January 2008 to June 2010 - some 520 people - were under 18 years old. In Tari, 248 were minors.

“In both places, in over 70% of the cases, the perpetrators were known by the survivors,”  said Patrick Almeida, MSF’s medical coordinator.

“It’s really bad,” said Ume Wainetti, head of the NGO, Family Sexual Violence Action Centre (FSVAC), based in Port Moresby.

Young girls are already disadvantaged when it comes to education, and the threat of rape and sexual abuse aggravates these inequalities.

As it is, parents generally hesitate to send their daughters to school because they will just get married and have babies. Boys will carry on the family name and continue to work,” Wainetti said.

The remote locations of schools have even greater implication for girls. “Some kids have to walk for hours to get to school and the journey on the way to school makes them vulnerable to attack, especially for girls,” said Joseph Logha, Department of Education assistant secretary.

“The experience of sexual violence definitely affects a girl’s education in terms of being able to stay in school and school performance,” said Ruth Kauffman, MSF project coordinator at a Family Support Centre in Lae.

These centres are intended to be safe houses and “one-stop shops” for survivors of violence for medical, psychosocial and legal assistance.

“If a girl is raped, she may be blamed and beaten by family members. If she gets pregnant, she misses one year of school and may not be able to go back. Even if she doesn’t [fall pregnant], she’s already a different person. The trauma makes it difficult for her to concentrate on school work,” Kauffman said.

Wainetti said one way of ending a culture of violence is to change people seeing violence against women as a given. The NGO has recruited more than 1,000 male volunteers of varying ages nationwide to receive “gender sensitivity” training.

“Some witnessed violence and did not like seeing how their mothers were treated,” Wainetti said. “They want to have a role in ending that cycle, and this is a start.”

Why they’re all going to vote Liberal today

BY PAUL OATES

Dear Mr Oates - We recommend that you explore the   option of establishing an AHES program for the teaching of Tok Pisin in your area. The Queensland LOTE Centre would be able to assist you with this endeavour. I trust this information is of assistance. Warm regards [Dr Suzanne Innes, Acting Assistant-Director General, Education Queensland]

WELL THERE YOU HAVE IT. The final response to my suggestion that Tok Pisin be taught in Australian schools.

The suggestion progressed like this.

An article in PNG Attitude; an interview on ABC radio; a letter to Mr Marles who supported the idea; then a letter to Mr Garrett's federal education department who thought it had merit; finally to the Queensland education department which suggested, as you have read above, that if I was interested I could take the matter up with my local school.

Apparently if I want Melanesian taught in the local school I have to do it myself.

Can someone tell me what language I am apparently using to pursue this initiative? Clearly it's not English.

So 'warm regards’ to you too, Dr Innes.

I'm slowly counting to ten. Wahnnnnnn, toooo.....

Evolution of post-grad medical training in PNG

BY POYAP ROONEY
SOUTH PACIFIC MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES

WORLDWIDE, MEDICAL UNDERGRADUATE TRAINING is provided by universities where students graduate with a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery (MBBS mostly) which gives them the basic foundational knowledge on which they then continuously build on as they begin and progress through their medical careers.

After graduation, the new graduates spend the first one or two years doing rotations in the major medical fields gaining hands on experience and begin to work out for themselves what medical specialist career they’re interested in pursuing.

In Australia this is the Intern year, while in Papua New Guinea this is the pre-registration: Resident Medical Officers (RMO) program.

In PNG the satisfactory completion of the RMO program is a compulsory requirement for full registration with the PNG Medical Board as stipulated in the Medical Registration Act 1980. 

During the two years the junior doctor, who is given a provisional registration status with the Medical Board rotates as follows through the seven major fields of medicine: internal medicine (adult medicine) 4 months; surgery 4 months; paediatrics 4 months; obstetrics and gynaecology 4 months; emergency medicine 3 months; anaesthesiology 2 months; rural attachments 3 months.

During their attachments the doctors work under supervision alongside senior colleagues and learn the ropes of working as a doctor in PNG.

They get as much hands on experience as possible with the various procedures and become competent in managing the many medical conditions to enable them to work as independent primary health doctors when they attain full registration.

After satisfactorily completing this rotation and meeting the requirement of the PNGMB as stipulated in the Medical Registration Act 1980 they attain full registered medical officer status.

Once fully registered, doctors are basically free to practice medicine and charge for their services with relatively little ongoing regulatory requirements.

The current Medical Registration Act 1980 only stipulates the requirements for a doctor (and dental officer and other allied health workers) to get registered for the different classes of registration, but does not have any specific requirements or limitations when it comes to how, what and where a practicing doctor in PNG with full registration (whatever the class of registration) can practice.

Essentially this means that any registered doctor can legally perform major surgery on a consenting patient. Most doctors know their individual professional limitation and perform within these limits.

You don’t realise you’re most needed until you arrive

BY PETER DANIELS

THIS IS MY FIRST TIME EXPERIENCE as a teacher at Pindiu High School. I am a young new graduate male teacher from Siassi and I have the heart to serve diligently in my career.

Pindiu is at the foot of the Cromwell Range in the Finschhafen district of Morobe Province. It is a small station built around an old airstrip on two and a half hectares of sloping mountainside.

Travelling to Pindiu from Lae is very expensive. From Lae to Finchhafen costs K80 for the Lutheran shipping passengers. From Gagidu travelling by road up to Pindiu is K70. And you would have to spend roughly K50 on food and buai, totalling about K200 for the trip.

Well the adventure gets interesting because the road trip actually ends at Silamana which is roughly still a half day’s walk from Pindiu. Actually the first time it took me one heck of a whole days walk.

The passenger trucks can’t travel past Silamana because the road is in very bad condition. So I stayed the night and began walking at 6 o’clock in the morning. By the time I got to Mongi River it was three in the afternoon. And from Mongi River to Pindiu Station it took me approximately another 6 hours to get there. By 9pm I arrived at the newly built Pindiu High School.

Most of the populated villages are located beyond Pindiu and most people depend on coffee as the main cash crop for income. I have witnessed villagers carrying bags of coffee beyond Pindiu, passed Pindiu to Mongi and up to Silamana.

I learnt they have been doing that for more than six years now. There is huge untapped potential in coffee to boost the economy of Finschhafen that I have seen ignored. There are many closed trade stores in the villages because it has become impossible to transport goods in bulk up to the station.

With the few struggling retailers that are still operating, the cost of goods sold is so shockingly expensive.

The nearest health facility is the Wagazaring Health Centre. It has lacked proper facilities and medical supplies for more than six years now.

On 5 March I witnessed a girl who was bitten by a snake. There was no supply of anti-venom when she was taken to Wagazaring health centre for treatment. On the way down to Pindiu the girl died.

Australian schools neglect Pacific cultures

BY TIM COSTELLO
CANBERRA TIMES

FOR MANY OF US, studying geography may be just a distant memory of pouring over maps of ''mountains and rivers''. Of course, today geography curriculum is a key part of preparing students for the increasingly globalised world of the 21st century.

It's why the draft Australian Geography curriculum from the Australian Curriculum Assessment Reporting Authority (ACARA) is so important.

It was released in October last year and consultation closes this month. It is scheduled to be introduced into schools next year.

While the draft curriculum is to be commended for having a global focus, there are some rather glaring omissions. The new draft geography curriculum fails to include any study of our own Pacific region.

Despite our important trade, aid, migration, sporting, military and tourism links with countries like Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Zealand and the Solomon Islands, the region is never explicitly mentioned.

Australian school students and families with a national or cultural background in the Pacific may justifiably feel ignored and overlooked.

The Pacific has often looked like Asia's poor cousin in the Australian education system. Critics have argued there is a failure to teach about Pacific cultures in our schools and nothing to give us hope that Australia may move beyond the ''us and them'' mentality in thinking about Pacific policy.

Unfortunately, the new draft geography curriculum may do little to change this.

At a recent Social Educators Conference in Melbourne, when asked why the Pacific was omitted, Peter Hill, the chief executive of ACARA, suggested that the Pacific was in fact part of Asia.

How can Australia be a good international neighbour if we are not teaching our young people about the issues facing our own neighbourhood?

Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/schools-neglect-pacific-cultures-20120226-1tw91.html#ixzz1nUgRvoDe

Tim Costello is chief executive officer of World Vision Australia and patron of the Australian Geography Teachers' Association.

Teaching of Tok Pisin moves a step forward

BY PAUL OATES

I HAVE RECEIVED A POSITIVE RESPONSE from Richard Marles, Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, in reference to my suggestion that Tok Pisin be taught in Australian schools.

I would like to share Mr Marles’ words with PNG Attitude readers, noting that the next step is up to Peter Garrett, the Minister for School Education.

Dear Mr Oates,

Thank you for your letter of 3 December 2011 about the teaching of Melanesian Tok Pisin in Australian schools.

I agree that Australia’s relationships with the countries of our region are vitally important. Since my appointment as Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Affairs, I have made this promotion of Australia’s shared history with and contemporary linkages to the Pacific as a priority.

Our relationship with our neighbour Papua New Guinea is of particular significance. I have advanced a number of new high-level initiatives to deepen and broaden this special relationship.

These include the annual PNG Symposium, which brings together leading academics of both nations to discuss our relationship, and the annual PNG Independence Day Oration at Parliament House, which last year was delivered by former PNG Prime Minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu.

Your proposal that Tok Pisin be taught in Australian schools is a positive contribution to the discussion of how Australia can better relate to our immediate region.

Accordingly, I have referred your letter to the Hon Peter Garrett AM, MP, the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, who has portfolio responsibility for such matters.

Thank you again for bringing your proposal to my attention and for your interest in Australia’s Pacific policy.

Yours sincerely,
Richard Marles

Blatchford education archives add papers for 1968

THE BLATCHFORD COLLECTION is the largest compilation of archival materials relating to the pre-Independence Papua New Guinea education system brought together in the one place.

And, after a bit of an absence as he pursued more athletic interests, Loch Blatchford [pictured amidst his collection] has returned to the exacting task of writing abstracts of these documents to make them more accessible to researchers and to a general readership.

The bulk of the collection comprises letters and documents from the files of the PNG Department of Education before 1977. These are supplemented by material from other PNG departments and a number of private collections.

If you have documents relating to education in Papua New Guinea, you might care to email Loch Blatchford and advise him. Researchers are also welcome to get in touch with Loch.

The Blatchford Collection for 1968, together with abstracts for all the other years from 1944, is now available here in PNG Attitude.

Much of 1968 is spent examining all levels of the education system to determine its future structure, direction and related manpower needs. There is a move to involve the religious Missions in educational planning for a unified approach to education and economic development.

In January the Secondary Planning Group issues a 140-page report to support the establishment of a number of new high schools and the expansion of existing high schools.

In March the ‘Report of Joint Working Party on Educational Policy’ is produced. The report written by the Administration and the Department of External Territories, but strongly influenced by Director of Education Ken McKinnon, sets the framework for the Administration and the Missions to form an integrated education system planned on a national basis and staffed by a unified teaching service.

In August and September Professor LJ Lewis undertakes a look at the primary curriculum and advises against a rural bias. He also recommends a committee of inquiry be appointed to report on the question of relationships between the Mission and Administration education systems.

McKinnon discusses the matter with Canberra but goes on leave on 3 September and does not return until the end of February 1969. The latter half of 1968 is spent organising the membership of a committee. Beeby is a firm member and Canberra suggests Weeden as another.

In July the Ministerial Member and Assistant Member system is introduced into Parliament with Members being required to be in Port Moresby for three weeks each month to meet with the Administrator and become involved in policy and budget planning.

Mathias ToLiman the Ministerial Member for Education is taking more responsibility and the Missions, especially the Catholics, which he feels may become a tool for the Administration.

‘Programmes and Policies for the Economic Development of Papua and New Guinea’ is released in September.

The Governor-General reconstitutes the Department of Territories as the Department of External Territories so that it may concentrate the bulk of its activities on Papua and New Guinea.

And, for those readers who have not visited the Collection before, here’s what just one of those thousands of abstracts looks like:

JOHNSON LW
COLONIAL SUNSET
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, ST LUCIA, 1983

“After the 1968 election we had in mind the appointment of some Ministerial Members from the Pangu Pati but the party rejected these proposals preferring to be independent of government decisions.  Pangu was well led in the House by Michael Somare, with strong support from Tony Voutas, Ebia Olewale, Pita Lus and others.” p16

Time to rethink PNG’s colonial education system

BY PHIL FITZPATRICK

EDUCATION HAS BECOME a curious artefact in the modern market economy.  In many ways it has become a mechanism of social control.

On the one hand it is necessary to have a suitably indoctrinated and compliant population that can read the advertising and calculate the coinage necessary to buy the junk that you want to sell to them but on the other hand if they get too much education they can become uppity and bothersome.

In this sense, high school is probably the upper limit.  That’s the level that will not only produce a crop of happy consumers but also the dopey but necessary business people who can’t see beyond the big houses and flash cars as their goal in life.

After high school it is necessary to limit educational opportunities for the masses.  University is the most dangerous level because it is where people start to think for themselves. 

Not only do you need to carefully limit the opportunities to go to uni but you also need to introduce protections for the lucky few, such as demanding formal qualifications for high paying jobs and setting up exclusive professional organisations to keep the undesirables out. 

At the same time you need to actively cast dispersions on other forms of knowledge, particularly the traditional. 

At least that’s how it works in most westernised countries.  A high school education is relatively easy to acquire but beyond that, if you don’t come from the right background, it’s hard yakka.

Using formal education as a mantra and panacea for the woes of society is a well tried and trusty formula.  It has its limitations however. 

There is nothing worse than a working class girl or boy with a degree. When Gough Whitlam introduced free university education in Australia successive governments fell over themselves to shut it down.

The O’Neill government has promised to introduce free education up to Year 10.  For a government trying to develop and control a market economy it is a logical step.

But will it work in Papua New Guinea where the real economy is still largely agrarian? 

It might be a bridge too far to change a population growing its own food into one working for wages and spending its idle hours staring at wide screen televisions.

Perhaps it’s time to stand back and rethink the education equation.  Maybe the education system introduced in colonial times and since perpetuated, just like the system of government, isn’t the best one for Papua New Guinea.

Maybe the goal of a market economy is not right either.

Catholic teachers in PNG’s Western province

WORKING CONDITIONS IN THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE of Daru-Kiunga, which covers the entire Western Province, are by no means easy.

After travelling along the Fly River by boat, teachers frequently have to walk long distances on foot through difficult terrain in order to reach their schools.

Education and spiritual formation represent a priority for the pastoral work of the diocese. This is expressed in a special pastoral plan, which in 2011 bore the motto "Free to Walk Together". For 2012 the slogan chosen is "Solidarity".

The diocese also attaches great importance to the continuing formation of its teaching staff, for as Sister Marilyn Akonoh of the diocesan education office writes in a letter to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, "The pastoral formation of the teachers is reflected in the progress of the pupils."

Sister Marilyn and her successor, Sister Imelda Ruasoi, organise regular retreat days for over 150 Catholic teachers. They include courses that aim to help the participants to understand their professional work as a form of service.

"They can find an example for their own work in the life of Jesus, who was Teacher, Leader and humble Servant at the same time", says Sister Marilyn. ACN is supporting their initiative with a contribution of over $15,000.

Photo: Sister Imelda (Education Office), Sister Evelyn (pastoral assistant at St Gerard's Parish) and Sister Marylin Akonoh (Education Office).

Source: Aid to the Church in Need

Free education in PNG will not work: union

BY CATHERINE GRAUE

THE PNG TEACHERS' UNION is calling on parents to continue paying their children's school fees next year, despite the government's promise of free education.

The PNG government has allocated K1.3 million to make school free for students from Year 7 to Year 10.

The PNG Teacher's Association is predicting that many of the more than half a million students not currently enrolled in school will head to the classroom as a result.

But the union's national secretary, Ugwalubu Mowana, told Radio Australia the government's funding will not be enough to cover the costs of providing quality education.

"I believe it is important the parents must continue some percentage of the school fee component," he said.

The union is also concerned an increase in student numbers will have adverse impacts on their learning, and has called for additional funding to ensure more teachers are trained.

The PNG government is promising to spend $565 million to implement an education policy.

Source: Australia Network News

After 24 hours, political situation remains confused

BY KEITH JACKSON

6:30PM Well, after 24 hours of confusion we have, er, continuing confusion. I'll sign off this live blog here but, if there are other significant events this evening, we'll report on them.  Meanwhile it seems both political groupings in PNG have hunkered down for a long night's strategising - and good luck to both of them. Another 2,000 page views for PNG Attitude during the course of today have made this exercise even more worhwhile.  Thanks to all our readers. We'll do it again sometime.

6:15PM Liam Fox has just reported for the ABC from Port Moresby that the Governor-General's private secretary has told Peter O'Neill and his fellow politicians that Sir Michael Ogio will not talk to them.  A short time ago the group, variously estimated at 40-60 MPs, left the area of Government House.  The secretary said the Governor-General is "confused" by the Supreme Court decision and asked the politicians to "sort it out amongst themselves".

6:05PM The Governor-General is reported by the ABC to have urged the opposing contenders for PNG prime minister to 'sort out the issue amongst themselves'. It seems Sir Michael Ogio is seeking a political solution, which presumably will be resolved on the floor of parliament.

5:17PM Journalist Ilya Gridneff (now with the Sun-Herald) emails that he's on his way to Port Moresby "to sort things out".  Ilya spent two years in PNG with AAP until earlier in 2011.  The big media guns are being rolled into position!

5:10PM A PNG Attitude reader reports (and has been very assertive in offline comments to me) that Governor-General Michael Ogio is meeting with Peter O'Neill and is scheduled to meet with Sir Michael Somare tomorrow.  If this information is correct it could be that he is trying to assure himself whether a government can be formed.  If not, he may dissolve parliament and call a general election [see Harry Topham's comment].

Why Australian schools should teach Tok Pisin

When Julie Bishop suggested Australian school students learn an Asian language, PAUL OATES proposed that it be Tok Pisin.  Radio Australia picked up the story and now Paul is reinforcing with this message in a letter to Australia’s major political parties.  Some extracts….

HUMAN LANGUAGE is a skill that must be learnt and developed. Studies indicate the earlier that language is learnt, the better.

The recent suggestion by the Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop that Australian school children learn an Asian language is a very good idea.

School children of yesteryear were usually offered French and Latin or maybe German as high school subjects. These languages, while important, failed to reflect Australia’s geographic location.

Over the years, Japanese and Indonesian were sometimes added to school curriculums as optional extras but not given any real imperative.

If Australia is to recognise the part of the world we live in, it is essential that the South Pacific not be ignored. Papuan New Guinea’s lingua franca (Tok Pisin) would be an excellent choice to include in Australian school curriculums.

Neo Melanesian or Tok Pisin is a relatively new language that has developed over the last 150 years. Unfortunately in the past it has been denigrated by some who think it is just broken English and just dismissed as ‘Pigeon English’.

It is actually a refreshingly different language with a distinctive vocabulary and grammar.

A full Melanesian - English dictionary was compiled by Father Francis Mihalic SVD, BA and published in 1957 by Westmead Printing. A reprint was published in 1971 and an updated version is being considered.

Mihalic’s ‘Grammar and Dictionary of Neo Melanesian’ built on previous work by skilled linguists who concentrated on converting to a written form the spoken language of many PNG people.

Tok Pisin can be a stepping stone to English from one of the more than 800 local PNG languages. It has been estimated to have about five million users and ‘is one of at least four Pacific creole languages: the others being Bislama in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands Pijin, and Torres Strait Creole.

Tok Pisin is often used as the language of choice between educated PNG English speakers as a means of friendly salutation and verbal relaxation.

With the expanding use of the internet and email, young Australians, if fluent in Tok Pisin, could interact with their peers in PNG. This would enhance cultural understanding and also cement lasting ties between our two countries.

Promoting the learning of Tok Pisin in Australian schools will help encourage better understanding and community awareness of our next door neighbours, our region and its people. It would be decidedly in Australia’s best interests.

Call for domestic violence education in schools

THE ASSISTANT POLICE COMMISSIONER for Papua New Guinea’s Highlands region wants children to be taught about domestic violence at school.

Simon Kauba’s comment followed a suggestion from another member of the Highlands police force that the bride price system is one of the major contributing factors to the high rate of violence against women.

But Mr Kauba said even if the dowry system could be removed, other more significant factors such as alcohol abuse and socio-economic pressures would remain.

He says there should be more education on why violence against women is unacceptable.

“Particularly it should be introduced in the school syllabus and it can be brought across the nation to the schools and institutions,” Mr Kauba said.

“This may be one way and the other one that I see is that I think the male population has to come down to earth and realise the importance that the woman plays in this country.”

Mr Kauba says violence against women has increased as resource development has accelerated in PNG.

Source: Radio New Zealand International, 23 November

Australia and PNG cooperate on universities

THE UNIVERSITY system of Papua New Guinea will be reformed under an agreement between PNG and the Australoian federal government.

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the reforms will be driven by a review of the PNG system by former prime minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu and economist Professor Ross Garnaut.

The review, released yesterday, lays the groundwork to address issues such as the funding of universities in PNG, weaknesses in infrastructure and the need for improved governance.

"Implementing this agenda will require sustained commitment from both governments over a number of years," Mr Rudd said in a statement.

"Australia and PNG both believe that quality education is one of the most effective means of promoting economic and social development."

PNG will increase government funding to universities while Australia will help PNG support the "rehabilitation" of national high schools to improve the quality of university entrants, in line with the review recommendations.

Australia will also look at building formal relationships between Australian and PNG universities.

Source: Melbourne Herald-Sun, 12 October

Looking back through less than misty eyes

BY LEONARD FONG ROKA

THE FINAL days of our 2011 academic year in the Divine Word University have become harmonious and conducive to hard work after a ‘nightclub and a showground’ situation for the past months. The final examinations are looming.

Walking through the main gate of this university last February, I thought how lucky I was to be in this church-run institution.  Before I arrived here, I heard that Christian Ethics was a compulsory course.  I considered the University of Papua New Guinea, where I had studied in 2003 and walked out in 2004, as backward in religious terms.

Entering my temporary room I thought it would be a replica of my Mako’sii hamlet in the Panguna District of Bougainville, which so many people had named a ‘recluse stash’ since I was always glued to my desk doing a bit of literature work and my secretarial duties to the Ioro Roadworks and Construction Company Limited.

I considered DWU as such because all around me there would be responsible fellow students with intellectualism burning bright in them. Also I thought that the liberation of PNG from its political, social or economic problems would be engineered by those few people nurtured within the perimeters of universities where morality and ethics are a norm. I was happy to be part of that team with Bougainville in my heart.

To my dismay, as the days went by, the opposite was happening. Our dormitory rooms were equipped with ‘sound woofers’ by roommates and the neighbours also brought in theirs. This turned our rooms into cinemas and pubs during the weekends.

The competition to download the latest hit song or movie became a culture and our rooms turned into showrooms where any music or video diehard called in to waste time and disturb the rest.

As Martyn Namorong wrote, time to us is secular - for there will be a moment tomorrow, next week and next month.  We do not see that as time goes by, you and I are nearing our beautiful coffin.

I have had gone through worse nightmares trying to adapt into a community of irresponsible, careless and disrespectful persons that still Papua New Guinea calls the future leaders.

I describe my DWU community as such.  First and foremost, we have rules to follow. We have certain rights but rights come with obligations. That has not been so evidenced in this university.

Here students turn to see problems in the DWU Administration without admitting that most of the problems are related to the actions of the individual.

Irresponsibility, carelessness and disrespect for others or facilities has been a problem for us. We dress our bodies in intellectual attire on schooldays - the polished boots and neckties of the DWU lecture rooms - whilst our weekend attitude, residential buildings and ablutions paint as the worst problems in this struggling country.

Beer drinks us up and out of our intellectuality. We claim we are intellectuals, when littering is heavy in our dorms.  We try to feign intellectualism when our ablutions are grubby and stink because we don’t bother to follow the rules.

Isn’t this the early sign that PNG is no way near in a safe and sound position for betterment? Think twice and change oneself as taught to us in Ethics classes, then we can claim PNG as safe.

So, PNG, your future leaders are studying these final days with our style of study ‘just an hour before the examinations’. When examinations are months away, we drink, fight and disturb those that try to unearth the real reasons as to why they are in this advanced university.

Bible Society reaches out to PNG prisoners

BY GREG CLARKE

THE COMPASSION of Jesus for people is being experienced by the hundreds of prison inmates in Papua New Guinea who are learning to read God's Word.

Through the Bible Society's successful literacy program, we are hearing many stories of prisoners who have found grace through Jesus and are now embarking on a hope-filled future.

The Bible Society began this ambitious project three years ago to help reach and rehabilitate PNG prison inmates.

Prisoners are trained to teach Bible-based literacy lessons to fellow inmates, many of whom are short-term detainees for relatively minor crimes and have never had the opportunity to attend school.

More than 300 prisoners in 10 prisons have graduated from the program, including Margaret, who always had a desire to read the Bible.

After five months of classes, I am now able to read the Word of God myself.  I am also beginning to read time on a wall clock. My writing is improving and I have written a letter to my children, who have also shared my joy.

God saw my need and made it possible for me to fulfil it. My desire after leaving prison is to share the Word of God with my family members, especially my children, which I was unable to do in their early years of growing, so they too can experience the love of God.

If God wants me to spread his Word, I am able to do it now because now I am able to read the Word of God myself. I don't know how to thank Bible Society for giving me this opportunity; I have nothing to give to you in return. May God bless you all.

Margaret's future looks bright having found a purpose in life and a desire to share the Bible with others.

This desire to share the Good News has already seen eight ex-prisoners return to teach literacy to their family and friends in communities where illiteracy rates can be as high as 50%. Two graduates have been asked to teach in village elementary schools and one released inmate is now completing a university course!

Another exciting outcome from this innovative program is that some skilled detainees are using their time in prison to translate timeless Bible stories into local languages. Praise God that 12 of the 800+ PNG languages have already been translated.

These materials can be used in schools for children learning to read, creating a wonderful opportunity for a new generation to hear about Jesus.

Imagine an entire country encountering our living God through the testimony of prisoners who have experienced his uncompromising grace! To see this vision realised, there is so much more that must be done.

With 18 prisons and more than 4,000 inmates in PNG, Bible Society would like to train, encourage and support more people to teach literacy.

Will you help us raise the $150,000 needed to teach Bible-based literacy to thousands of PNG prisoners?

Your generous tax deductible gift and faith-filled prayers will see many more prisoners learn to read and write, to teach others and most importantly open their hearts to God.

Dr Greg Clarke is CEO of Bible Society Australia

With thanks to Barbara Short

Not enough teachers to satisfy govt initiative

THE GENERAL SECRETARY of the Papua New Guinea Teachers Association says there won’t be enough teachers to fulfill the government’s wish to provide free education for students up to Year 10.

Ugwalubu Mowana says the government initiative is a bold one but currently the number of teachers being trained is exceeded by those leaving the profession.

In its first budget the O’Neill government has allocated $165 million to education for next year, but Mr Mowana says this won’t go far.

“This amount of money is small. It proably might cater for teacher and learning materials but it won’t assist infrastructure development in schools,” he said.

“Likewise it will not help in training of teachers with that allocation.”

Mr Mowana says the government initiative is likely to lead to larger classes and affect the quality of education provided.

Source: Radio New Zealand International, 26 September

Free school education goal seen as ‘ambitious’

A CANADIAN volunteer organisation working in Papua New Guinea has described the government’s aim to provide free education up to year ten as “ambitious”.

The O’Neill government’s first budget has given its biggest single allocation to education, offering K305 million to the sector.

The education program manager for Canadian University Service Overseas in PNG, Richard Jones, says it’s great news that the spend on education has increased over recent years, but he believes the scope of the government’s aim is to broad.

“We would like the government to focus on the lower primary grades first, as per their universal basic education plan,” he said.

“Mostly to ensure there is enough teachers and classrooms for the children that are coming into school”.

Richard Jones who says the level the government has agreed to spend needs to be sustained for a number of years.

Source: Radio New Zealand International, 25 September
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=63323

Crisis looms as schools turn out semi-literates

LITERACY IN SOME areas of Papua New Guinea stands at just 15% of the population, according to a new report.

The report is based on surveys conducted in five provinces by the PNG Education Advocacy Network.

It shows a large number of teenagers are only semi-literate by the end of Year 8 at school.

The chief executive of the Advocacy Network, Priscilla Kare, said, "PNG is facing a literacy crisis at the moment."

She said it was a surprise to find problems beyond the more expected adult illiteracy.

"Because most of the issues facing literacy is to do with adult literacy in communities. (But) we have found out that not only adult literacy is our problem, but those who are coming out of the formal education system are not really literate."

This was the case "even if they are in school and they have been in school for a number of years".

One of the biggest issues educators faced was the more than 900 languages used in the country, Ms Kare said.

Source: Radio Australia News, 20 September
http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/201109/3321924.htm?desktop

Some major educational issues worth debating

BY PETER KRANZ

PNG ATTITUDE has just established a discussion category for Education and here are some provocative issues to start with.

Should PNG have free education for all primary school kids?

Why should PNG try and support five national Universities when most have a student population of barely that of a senior high school elsewhere?

Why should the PNG Government support private educational institutions when money is so tight?

What has happened to the financial support for the National High Schools ?

What are the wages paid to teachers in regional schools? In what conditions do they have to live?

What is the future of Aus AID Pacific scholarships to gifted PNG students?

How much support does the PNG Government give to the research institutes like NRI and the PNG MRI and the old ADCOL (Administrative College)?

What is happening to the National collections of important historical materials?

Does PNG think national education is worth supporting, through decent facilities, IT resources, libraries and other support?

Where is the national investment in trade, technical and vocational education?  Without this, don't complain about foreigners taking all the new jobs in the resources sector.

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Readers are invited to comment on these issues or, if you have something more substantive to offer, email an article to the editor here - KJ