Planned changes to take training of elementary teachers out of distance mode

The National Youth & Careers

All distant elementary school training programmes and responsibilities will be returned to the Papua New Guinea Education Institute (PNGEI) in Port Moresby, institute director Zui Neofa says.
Neofa said yesterday that elementary teacher training would no longer be offered in distance mode in provinces and the PNGEI and the Department of Education would take full charge of training.
“We have had elementary teacher training that ran in all provinces.  It was called certificate of elementary teaching,” Neofa said.
“It used to be offered all over PNG through a distant mode basis where our lectures visited provinces throughout the country and conducted trainings and workshops for elementary school administrations and staff.”
Neofa said although those workshops and trainings contributed by producing more than 20,000 elementary school teachers in past years, the impact on the capacity of those programmes was not enough and needed more attention.
“We will no longer be offering short trainings and workshops throughout provinces, however, students throughout the country who wish to become elementary school teachers will have to apply straight to the Department of Education and get selected to take a one-year full-time training to become elementary school teachers,” Noefa said.
He said the other teacher training institutions which will also be offering one-year full-time training for elementary school teachers under the Department of Education were:

  • Dauli Teachers College (Hela)
  • Enga Teachers cCllege (Enga)
  • Balob Teachers College (Morobe)
  • Holy Trinity Teachers College (Western Highlands)
  • Nazarene Teachers College (Jiwaka)
  • Madang Teachers College (Madang)
  • Gaulim Teachers College (East New Britain)
  • Rev Joseph Maru Teachers College (East Sepik)