Ramu academy takes Fode to tertiary level

By HANNAH NERO
THE Ramu Valley Academy is providing an all-inclusive flexible open and distance education (Fode) programme, transitioning from a secondary into the tertiary level.
Academy’s Fode coordinator Kelly Housley told The National: “We are a combination of locals and expatriates (Americans) who work together to run this academy, focusing on the PNG curriculum.
“My husband, William and I started with literary classes for locals.
“We then learned about Fode and became a registered centre of Fode in 2003, catering for boarding and day students, comprising locals from Grade 7-12.
“The national Fode programme has evolved to new levels over the last decade.
“Fode at the academy not only helps those who wish to redo and upgrade their marks, but also to develop the student’s characters and mindset while leading them upward to significant pathways of tertiary education.
“Even our late minister for education, Jimmy Uguro, was a proud graduate from the national Fode system,” Kelly said.
She said the Fode curriculum for Grade 7-12 is available online, “which makes it accessible especially for those living in hard-to-reach remote areas where educational opportunities are lacking and, in this case, middle Ramu”.
“Currently we have a total of 40 boarding students, and the rest are day students from the locality, selected by community leaders.
“We had our first Grade 10 boarding students this year. Next year, they will be our first Grade 11 and Grade 12 the following year.
“We aim to reach a maximum of 90 students boarding at the academy,” Kelly said.
“Aside from learning, students have extra-curricular activities in subsistence farming, the etiquette of both western and cultural practices, and take violin and music lessons among others.”