Probe malpractices at teachers colleges

 MOST teachers colleges in Papua New Guinea are getting grade 10 leavers and training them to become primary school teachers even though the entry requirement is a grade 12 certificate.

Even worse than that is we have a good number of grade 12 dropouts roaming the streets who should be filling up these spaces. 

Unless the grade 10 leavers upgrade their education level to grade 12, they are not eligible and should not secure these places in teachers college.

Thus fairness and justice prevail.

There are several reasons established for this practice: 

– Bribery, the Board of Governors including the principals and deputies are offered bribes, especially money or other incentives in order that a space is secured. 

– False scan of certificates. The so-called critical and robust selection committee in every teachers college cannot simply identify false certificates. 

– The “wantok” or “who you know” system in Papua New Guinea, which is the cause of many problems like this.

For instance, if a relative of an applicant is a principal in a college, the applicant certainly gets a place regardless of his/her eligibility or ineligibility.

As a result of such malpractices, the quality of primary education is declining. 

Most of these recent graduates cannot write good English. This is a problem that must be solved because primary education is very important that it prepares students for their success in higher grades. It is the foundation on which educational success is based.

Finally, most of the qualified teachers who reach grade 12 level are not given positions and they are on borrowed positions while others of the same category have not even secured positions yet because the positions are occupied by the fake ones. 

My recommendation is that there must be proper screening in place. Before a teacher is registered by the Education Department, the necessary credentials must be thoroughly checked and proven.

Only then we will have improvements in the quality of primary education.

Mundmendi Mandrin

Madang