By ZACHERY PER
NEARLY half of the primary school age children in the country cannot go to school although they would like to.
United Nations Children Fund (Unicef) Goroka zone chief Dr Arnold Calo-oy pointed this out in Goroka last week.
He said of those who managed to enroll, a big number were dropping out.
“Only a little over half of the children who enrolled complete primary education … and in this case, girls are seriously disadvantaged,” Dr Calo-oy said.
He said it was a commonly held that the main reason why children were not in school was their parents’ difficulty in paying for school fees.
Likewise, Dr Calo-oy mentioned some contributing factors that caused disruption to the children’s schooling like security, lack of proper water supply, sanitation, early marriages and teacher’s attitude.
“Quality basic education for all is vital because it produced citizens for a work force who can contribute to the socio-economic development of the country,” he said.
Dr Calo-oy added that Unicef, as a partner in the development of PNG, focused efforts on achieving quality basic education especially for girls.
“We are putting more attention to girls because we believe that education is a central requirement for ensuring their empowerment and enhancement in life.
“We must devote special efforts to provide both girls and boys equal opportunities by creating an environment that will help them complete basic primary education,” he said.
Dr Calo-oy also said only through education that women would be able to participate more in the political arena and be active in the decision-making exercise.