Aussies to build 1,100 classrooms

 KOKI Primary School came alive last Saturday when Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott attended the groundbreaking ceremony for three classrooms.
The project is part of the Australia’s commitment under the Partnership for Development programme.
Australia will build up to 1,100 classrooms, 450 teachers quarters and 450 ablution blocks by 2016.
“It is an honour to be here and I am filled with conviction that what we are doing to help PNG is a very good investment,” he said.
Abbott told teachers, students and parents that good infrastructure would guarantee quality education.
Abbott said Australia’s focus on education in PNG was about ensuring that the people were capable participants in the modern world.
“Education is about unlocking everyone’s potential,” he said.
Abbott said education was not about infrastructure but curiosity and the desire to learn.
Abbott said it was up to the people of PNG to decide if they really wanted to get educated.
“It is up to you to get educated. The Australian government can only support you,” he said.
Moresby North-East MP Justin Tkatchenko said 40 new classrooms would be built in selected schools in the electorate funded by AusAID.