Elementary training vital, official says

 TRAINING for elementary school teachers will raise the standard of education from that level, an official says.

PNG Education Institute director Dr Zui Neofa said training for teachers in the elementary sector was rarely heard of or nonexistent. 

Neofa said training was one way of improving and upgrading elementary teachers’ skills.

He was speaking during the launching of its Elementary Teachers Training Reform report last Friday.

“The PNG Education Institute hopes that this data produced through the research will assist the department of education and stakeholders to incorporate the findings into current or existing policies,” he said.

Neofa and his team of researches highlighted the key findings of the report.

“Policy makers understand the workforce and costs involved in elementary pre-service teacher training and can make informed decisions about the reform through the use of the data,” he said.

Neofa said the team travelled to provinces to carry out research and collect data using different forms of medium.

The team took a month to complete the research and collect data using focus groups, quantitative telephone interviews and an analysis of a variety of financial data.