Education status needs addressing

The National Letters

CONGRATULATIONS to the prime minister and members of parliament for making this crucial decision to declare a state of emergency (SOE) in PNG.
It is hard but you have shown courage to do so for the people.
None of you, if I am not mistaken, at least made mention of the schools or the education system in during the last special parliament session.
It was all about the rise and fall of the economy of this nation.
More than half (above 50 per cent) of the population in PNG are school children.
Like any other organisation, the education system has its own operational calendars.
With another two months extension of the SOE, academic programmes will be crippled to zero level.
We will lose about six weeks.
We will race against time to meet the standard based curriculum requirements, which was implemented last year.
I do not know why our two ministers, Department of Higher Education Research Science and Technology and Education Department, were very quiet.
Neither bothered to raise questions on behalf of the future leaders of this nation.
Are you incapable or just feeling scared?
Since the coronavirus is not in PNG as yet, I raise these concerns to the Government through the state of emergency:

  • ALLOW all tertiary institutions to operate as normal with strict control measures to follow the 2020 academic calendar;
  • ALL boarding secondary schools, can be day schools. Students can live in their homes and come to school. Distancing can be encouraged by their teachers; and,
  • NOT all primary schools are crowded, it’s only in our urban areas rural areas, the number of students are decreasing every year.

Covid-19 will go to where it belongs tomorrow but education is here to stay.
Other, resources will diminish but human resources will stay.
My good government, reconsider your SOE decision.
Show some leniency in children learning.

Joe D.Kamane,
Parent/Teacher,
POM