60% of adults cannot read or write English

 By CLEMENT KAUPA

MORE than 60% of adult Papua New Guineans cannot read or write simple English, a community in Chimbu was told last week. 

Provincial literacy coordinator Maggie Tine attributed this to inadequate education opportunities. 

“This is very serious and we must do all we can to bring this percentage down,” Tine told the Giu-Emai community of Kamtai district in Sinasina-Yonggomugl.

Tine also blamed the recently phased out outcomes-based education system for the low literacy level.

Tine believes the Outcomes-Based Education was inappropriate for the PNG context and had done more harm than good in the last decade.  

As a result, tertiary institutions have been struggling to teach students with poor language skills and understanding, according to Samson Bare, a teacher at Giu Primary School.

“It is a fact that all our tertiary institutions are struggling with very low language skills,” Bare said.

“We must identify where the problem lies and resolve it quickly if we want to improve our literacy level.” 

Chimbu elementary and primary school inspector Joseph Ulkandi shared Bare’s belief that poor literacy levels at tertiary institutions started at the basic elementary level.

Ulkandi commended the Emai Seventh-Day Adventist Lutheran church for establishing a phonics school to teach their children English.

“The use of sounds is the best tool to teach literacy and I highly commend you for the initiative,” Ulkande said.

However, there is no funding from the provincial education divisionfor the SDA-run early learning schools.

Tine said they would assist with material and teaching aids, after launching a week-long training course for phonics teachers at Emai SDA church.

Meantime, parents of children who are attending the phonics classes have attested to significant improvement in their reading and writing skills.