Educate children at an early age vital

THE prime minister has spoken on the issue surrounding the OBE curriculum and his view echoed the sentiment expressed by the people.
Last Friday, the PNG Teachers’ Association general secretary drove the final nail into the heart of OBE.
OBE stands for outcomes-based education and the name by itself should capture the envy and support of the people, more so, from educationists.
This should have been seen as
“an icing on the cake”.
Unfortunately, the concept was not understood by many, hence, its demise.
OBE, in principle, embraces “stu­dent orchestrated learning” and this is the approach of this millen­nium.
Managing of the resources, which include teachers and time, is paramount in a student’s pursuit of achieving his or her outcomes.
A child is given certain outcomes as determined by the teacher and stipulated by the curriculum and
his or her role is to use available resources to produce the outcomes.
The outcomes are important but the process to get the products done is not emphasised.
The “resurrected OBE” is the approach used in the last education system.
This OBE stands for “objective-based education” and it was the approach which treated students as empty vessels.
Because of this attitude and ap­proach, students were given objectives and they were shown in real time and space on how to go about achieving the objectives.
But this approach did not leave room for students to use their intui­tiveness.
Experience in the classroom has proven that students who work on projects by themselves or in small groups tend to learn more and at a faster rate.
The problems regarding the current OBE are many.
It was pitched at the wrong level and would have been ideal in the lower and upper secondary levels.
It was not meant for elementary and primary levels.
Teachers were not taught how to handle such classes and for them to appreciate its usefulness.
The languages of elementary children were used as the medium of instructions and, to a degree, they were subjects unto themselves.
To do away with elementary schools is a big mistake.
Governments do not dictate the ultimate outcomes of a child but
the child who feels the need to work and study in order to live a satis­-fying life.

Haluma
Lae