By PAUL PASINGAN
WHAT does it mean to be a teacher Papua New Guinea?
The answers are many and varied, depending on who you ask.
Our teachers rank among other groups of service providers in our country who work long hours under very trying conditions with very limited resources and very little reward.
They cross the seas; travel up and down rivers; walk through bush tracks and jungles for the purpose of educating our citizens.
For their good intentions and all the work they do, teachers receive very minimal personal benefits.
To compound that, many teachers pay much more than their urban colleagues to live and travel out of the remote communities where they serve.
Sadly, our teachers have very little to sing and dance about.
How this impacts on the professional, social, economical, financial and emotional lives of teachers and their families requires a lengthy discussion that could be done at another time.
The World Teachers Day came and went recently without much of a hoopla.
As a former school teacher, I feel that Papua New Guineans have failed to give due recognition to the profession by respecting National Teachers Day wherever such an event may be held.
Are we taking teachers for granted?
Most of us would not be where we are today if not for our teachers.
In contrast, we are inclined to blame our failures on the system, including teachers.
Failures are a part of the excess baggage teachers carry with them every year round.
Some parents cannot accept their children’s failure and take it out on the teachers.
It is time we do something for our teachers and I suggest that when the next National Teachers Day comes around, we show to them our appreciation of their dedication and sacrifices.
I am sure we can all imagine what it would be like for a community without teachers. Some remote communities are already facing such a situation, depriving the children of an education.
What does the future hold for these children, and the country?
Every effort must be made to educate all citizens of this nation. After all, for us to have an intelligent nation, we must have smart and intelligent teachers first.
I think there is truth in the saying that you can tell the quality of your teachers by the successes and quality of their output, their product, and the students that graduate, which brings me to another important issue.
It is about empowering teachers and it is about allowing them to realise their own potential as professionals.
The concept is about giving our teachers the opportunity to develop curriculum leadership which I wish to term as “Local Based Curriculum Sustainable Development” (LBCSD).
I propose that the Department of Education reviews and modifies the structure of curriculum development in order to accommodate and promote curriculum development decentralisation and sharing with the provinces and schools.
Three main thoughts emanate from the idea of the concept.
First, the Department of Education and its Curriculum Development and Measurement Division would have to, substantially, share some of the responsibilities of developing curriculum and syllabuses with the provincial education authorities and school communities.
This means that some curricula will be decided upon and developed at the provincial level where the conditions are more appropriate.
The second is that curriculum development will be sustaining as a result of LBCSD.
The two areas of sustainability are:
1. Developing curriculum locally would be an ongoing activity for teachers and education personnel concerned at the local level (province and school communities). It will also enable sustainability in the ongoing professional development of all curriculum development personnel at the local level.
2. Developing curriculum at this level will also ensure that the curricula developed are relevant, and sustainable. We allow the schools and communities to decide what learning areas are sustaining for their students, province and local communities. This will be in line with other related programmes for sustainable development in the country.
The third relates to identification of the curricula that can be decided upon to be areas of LBCSD and can be appropriately coordinated at the local level.
I propose the following subject areas as a start – Making a Living, Agriculture, Home
Economics, Physical Education, Guidance and Counselling.
I also include other subjects like Pastoral Care, Computer Basics, Eco-tourism and Commerce as possible areas that meet local interests and needs. This implies that some subjects and contents will not be included in the school curriculum if they are deemed inappropriate according to the needs for sustainable development in the local community.
The underlying values of LBCSD include:
*Teachers’ confidence and self-worth are enhanced when engaging in the activities;
*Teachers develop more skills in planning, trying things out and reflecting on teaching and learning;
*Teachers gain a sense of satisfaction and pride in their own creations and innovations;
*The local innovations are more meaningful and are sustainable under local conditions; and
*Educators, teachers and communities working collaboratively in decision-making to meet local needs.
The idea of LBCSD itself is an innovation that can contribute to sustainable development of quality teachers and educators for the smart or intelligent nation we may want for PNG.
I conclude by acknowledging that much good work has been done and continues to be implemented for the sake of the teachers and the schools throughout the country.
Two examples of many such initiatives and efforts are the workshops to upgrade the teachers’ knowledge on the curriculum which were conducted in the Western Highlands and the Duke of York islands recently.
We can be sure that there will be many more of these professional development ideas to come, which the teachers will gratefully receive and implement to make the education reform and OBE work in PNG.
The Education Department is doing a lot of good work and understands that there is still a lot that we can do.
However, a hindrance to the progress made so far will come from complacency and over-dependency.
May we not be too dependent on external expertise and allow more locally based specialists, Papua New Guineans, to do the thinking and creating for us.
The space available in this column restricts us from looking at the advantages and disadvantages of this innovative idea and there is much we can share. That will be the task of another writer if they wish to take up the issue.

Note: The writer is a lecturer at the Divine Word University in Madang