Proper funding in education vital

PETER O’Neill, with his People’s National Congress (PNC)-led government, was thrown out last
August, and Parliament elected James Marape as the new prime minister.
It is not mimicking, but the new Government had passed new policies and plans which includes the slashing of tuition fee free appropriations in the 2020 Budget……giving effect to the revised Government tuition fee subsidy (GTFS) policy.
As this year’s school year looms, many parents have not assimilated with GTFS hence the media is teeming with public outcry at the moment.
An article in The National dated Dec 20, stated that “the slash in the TFF fund matters most, because education is a basic fundamental right”.
I think the view that education is the sole responsibility of the Government is being used as a political propaganda to disguise voters and prop-up support for certain political parties and policies, which I further believe is a rude tactic often associated with socialist regimes.
Unless the Government provides TFF and Help at the same time, education will continue to be a shared responsibility in PNG.
In the 1980s, Help was available but it was later phased out.
Then in 2012, the PNC-led government introduced TFF but parents still paid for tertiary education.
So effectively, there is the predicament that tuition fees are shared between the Government and parents.
This cost benefit sharing ratio will still be available to families across the nation when the GTFS policy is implemented alongside Help.
However, under the new education policy, families will benefit from a whopping 63 per cent GTFS at grade one to 12 and continue to benefit at tertiary level with Help.
For the first time, funding for tuition fees will not only be fairly distributed but efficiently allocated across the entire education system and this will mean a sustainable, efficient and quality education system in PNG.
This policy shift further strengthens the unilateral notion of gender equality. More students, especially girls, will now be able to access Help, complete tertiary studies on time, enter the workforce and contribute to nation building.
The reduction in the gender gap in education and employment is hinged on the United Nations Sustainable Development goals.
According to the Unite Nations, proper allocation of funding in education improves gender complementarities which results in improved economic productivity and growth as younger women, perhaps more of them from
underprivileged backgrounds fully, participate in the formal economy.
Proper allocation of funding in education means not just pumping millions of kina into TFF schemes, but it is all about giving equal emphasis on all levels of educational component and employment and other career pathways such as the small-medium enterprise (SME) incubation schemes.
This, in essence, is what the Government is emphasising with “Take back PNG”.
The only concern is to see the Government ensuring Help is concessional and has a flexible repayment terms as it should not add an extra burden on recipient students and parents.
The other concern is for other stakeholders unilaterally chip in and support parents offset the 37 per cent tuition fees for elementary, primary and secondary schools through sponsorships, local and provincial government subsidies, back-to-school promotions with cash and cash equivalent combos, and etc.

Mike Haro,
Pro GTFS