Former teacher wants education to focus on agriculture not office jobs

ALLOW me to comment on the issue of lack of space to accommodate all grade 12 school leavers for tertiary institutions next year as expressed by Education Minister Nick Kuman.
It is not an issue that the minister should announce with a smile on his face.
I believe the minister should be in tears when telling parents that there is no room to accommodate their children in tertiary institutions although they meet the entry requirements.
According to the minister, the government’s tuition free education policy is about accessibility, but after that what do we do?
I am a former school teacher so let me tell you how I felt when I taught in high schools.
I knew in my grade 10 class there would be only five to six students who will make it to a tertiary institution, but I insisted that everybody must turn up for class and do all the work I give them.
I knew I was only preparing a few at the expense of the majority but the system was designed to do just that.
I could not change the curriculum materials to teach what I wanted to teach because the uniform national examination system reinforced the implementation of the curriculum materials that the Education Department provided.
When this injustice was already embedded the Government went ahead and introduced the free tuition policy which aggravated the situation.
So today there are more and more students who are meeting the requirement to go to tertiary institutions but are pushed back because of lack of space.
A problem more daunting than space for further education is what happens after tertiary education.
Minister, I want to pose a serious question to you.
Do you think we should continue in that trend forever or is possible to change our approach in education?
If you think we have already come to the end of the road then let me put this proposition to you.
I propose that the Government, through the Education Department, enforces a paradigm shift from excessive academic education to technical and vocational education, with emphasis on agriculture.
Let the government control the number of students who pursue academic education according to need and make technical and vocational education the major focus.
Our mother the land is waiting to take care of everyone who is affected by education’s space and credit limitations.
The way we think in terms of education should be shifted so that students will be prepared to develop appropriate attitudes and skills to see land as a source of hope.
School children are not seeing things right because there is no clear direction provided by the government to guide the way our people think. Our school children are focused on white-collar jobs that are just not available.
I am tempted to mention here that one of the problems with employment in the public service usually involves a person like an uncle trying to provide job for a niece or nephew who has just graduated from university.
It is a vicious cycle that goes on and on and on.
National Planning and Monitoring Minister Richard Maru wants to enable Papua New Guinea to get to position 50 on the development index by 2050.
However, that might not happen if we do not change the focus of our education system.
The strength of a country depends on the availability of its workforce in the productive sector.
If our education system produces thousands of school leavers looking for space to go to tertiary education, the dream of making them productive will disappear into thin air.
What is going to be the likely result of that education approach?
More and more people will fill the urban centres and become a liability, thus putting pressure on the government to look after them.
But supposing our education system produces thousands of people to turn to the soil and toil the land, what will happen?
We will end up with produce to sell and that will improve our national income.
This is certainly going to progress our government’s efforts in terms of tangible development.
I trust, minister, you will react to this letter.

Joseph Geparo,
Lae