Bring back free education

SARAH finished top in Notre Dame Girls High School and is amongst the few who topped the grade 12 examination in the country.
She was already a bright student in community school and everyone knew Sarah would go places.
Sarah lost her mother to breast cancer when she was only 12.
Her father, Namba, had to perform responsibilities of both parents and raised Sarah and her two younger brothers by himself.
It was very difficult for Namba, who was occasionally the village ‘harmbug man’ or a trouble maker came to terms with the startling reality and made a U-turn in his life for his children’s sake.
Namba refused to remarry and became a good Christian and devoted his entire time fending for his children.
With an abundant fertile land and the good Nebilyer climate, Namba worked the land growing vegetables and raised pigs, a prized commodity in the highlands, to support his family.
Now that the African Swine Flu is hitting the upper highlands, Namba and many families are counting the cost which is compounding with the Covid-19 restrictions.
It has been a worse year for farmers throughout the country.
Namba could not sell one pig as the school year is approaching fast for Sarah to go to university.
Uncertainty in having a child going to school looms in the country for families sharing Sarah’s family fate.
The free education policy was a vital programme that essentially bridged the gap between the ‘haves and the have nots’ to equally access tertiary education.
The short-sighted decision by the men in ivory towers whose children enjoy school overseas in abolishing free education will now deprive many young and smart Papua New Guineans from going to school.
For a poor parent, a good education for his/her children is everything.
The success of the child in school, work and life is often shared by many.
When one is living hand-to-mouth education often is not in their priority list. As long as they have food on the table and will be able to survive another day, it’s good enough for them.
For Namba, sending his daughter to school is everything.
Sarah refuses to believe that subsistence farming would be her fate.
Unless free education is restored, many Papua New Guineans will fall out from the education system and the disparity between the rich and the poor will continue to grow unabated. Free education should never be an item on the ‘short term pain and long term gain’ death list because missing out on life’s opportunity just because of no school is a lifetime loss which nothing in this world could ever replace.

David Lepi