Education should be Sandaun’s priority

 EDUCATION, as we all know, is one of the key basic social services and the people of West Sepik expect the Sandaun provincial government to deliver.

If our students are not provided such incentives, then I am afraid there will be no lasting progress or deve­lopment in the province.

The provincial education plan for West Sepik – “Empowering every West Sepik child” – is to provide educational opportunities to children in even the most remote and disadvantaged areas.

Its successful implementation is pivotal to the development of West Sepik over an eight-year period (2007-14). 

But until now, there is no formal provincial education plan. 

As a result, priorities are not clearly established and pursued as financial support for education in different parts of the province is not consistently and equally allocated.

I have not seen much being done to empower every West Sepik child since 2007 and 2014 is ap­proaching very fast.

Many students struggle to go to school without government support, especially those in remote areas.

I am one of them and have been struggling to complete my tertiary education this year at the University 

of Goroka.

The Sandaun provincial government needs to set up a database on every school in the province so that it can help students, especially 

those in tertiary institutions.

It will be helpful for the go­vern­-ment to know how many students are at universities, colleges or technical vocational education and training institutions.

It will also allow the Sandaun go­vernment to know how many stu­dent­s are at elementary, primary, high or secondary schools.

This database must be updated annually so that the government is aware of how many students are studying so that proper planning 

can be made to assist them.

To bring about changes, we need tea­chers as agents of change.

It is you and I who will change 

the mindsets of this and the next gene­ration, so we must be the go­vernment’s priority.

We have been left on the sideline for too long by our leaders and we are forced to struggle on our own.

The result is many West Sepik students do not go home to participate in pro­vincial development once they leave the province.

Looking at the economy and in­come opportunities in West Sepik, the population is mainly rural-

based with  some 92% living in ru­-ral areas and the rest in urban areas.

The provincial economy is largely a subsistence economy.

When we look at transport, communication and other support infrastructure, we are far behind.

There are no proper road networks connecting districts to the provincial headquarters, hence, the cost of travel and transporting of goods are high.

Communication facilities, al­though reliable, are still limited to the extent that many rural areas are often unreachable.

If the government cannot deliver basic services to help our parents earn a living to support our educa-

tion, then it is only fair our school fees must be met by the provincial government.

I appeal to all West Sepik MPs to prioritise our education.

They must make time to visit tertiary institutions and talk to the young elites.

Our leaders may make policies but we will implement them.

Bid Ambassi

Goroka