Dropout Billi’s motto: Never give up

By MICHAEL PHILIP
Dropping out of Grade 12 in 1996 at the Sogeri National High School didn’t stop Billi Habiri from pursuing his education journey.
He attended the Flexible Open Distance Education centre in Goroka to upgrade his marks to be able to re-enter the formal education system.
“Failing Grade 12 didn’t stop me from pursuing education because I had goals in life I wanted to achieve.”
Today, the 43-year-old from Kami village in Goroka, Eastern Highlands is the director of the Career Training Institute which he founded.
He comes from a family of two brothers and two sisters born to Johnmark and Vivise Habiti who are subsistence farmers.
Billi attended from 1984 to 1992 the Faniufa Community School where he completed Grade Eight. His dream was to become a doctor one day.
“Dreams will only come to reality if we work hard. So when I was attending primary school, I dreamt of becoming a doctor. I kept it close to my heart and prayed that one day I will achieve it.”
He grew up in a strong Seventh Day Adventist church family and followed the teachings of his parents “in my heart”.
In 1992, Billi did very well in the Grade Eight examination which earned him a place at the Goroka Demonstration High School the following year.
“As children, when you are selected to high school, it’s a totally different feeling. I felt I was already a champion because I had made it to Grade Nine.
“My selection made me concentrate more on my studies, and did away some negative habits I was used to during my primary school days.”
After completing Grade 10 at Goroka Demonstration High School in 1994, Billi was offered a place at the Sogeri National High School in Port Moresby for Grade 11 and Grade 12.
But things did not work out well for him during those two years at one of the country’s biggest national high schools. In 1996, he failed the Grade 12 national examination.
“It was shock to me but there was no one else to blame. I blamed myself. But I relied on the Lord to show me a way forward. I was young and had a long way to go, with a lot of opportunities out there.”

“ Failing Grade 12 didn’t stop me from pursuing my education because I had goals in life I wanted to achieve.”

Billi returned home to Goroka after being rejected by universities and colleges he had sent his applications to.
“I looked for ways to get back into the education system. But the school fee was another issue. So I worked for the Eastern Highlands governor as a security guard at his house until I had enough money to enrol at the FODE school.”
Billi enrolled at the Goroka FODE Centre and successfully upgraded his marks. He was accepted by the University of Goroka to pursue a Bachelor in Education degree.
“FODE was not properly organised then so it took me almost four years to upgrade my marks. I didn’t give up.”
He graduated with a Bachelor in Education degree in 2006 and was offered a job by the university as a Chemistry tutor that year.
In 2008, he left tutoring to pursue a degree programme in Chemistry at the university. He graduated in 2011.
But even two degrees – in Education and Chemistry – were not enough for Billi. So he left the country to pursue a Masters in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of London in the United Kingdom in 2012. He graduated in 2014.
“So after flopping Grade 12, forced to upgrade my marks at FODE to get into university, I knew what failure felt like. I had also come from a poor family background.”
Today Billi is the director and founder of the Career Training Institute in Kainantu which offers FODE, Health Science, Business Studies and Aviation.
“I want school dropouts to pursue their studies as God has a purpose in their lives. Nothing is impossible if only we can achieve our dreams.”
Maybe his dream of becoming a doctor is harder to realise now, but then his motto is “never give up”.