Rural teachers get help

THE Australian Award Scholarship has helped 28 teachers to graduate with diplomas in primary teaching from Scared Heart Teachers College in Port Moresby.
Many of the teachers, who graduated last year, returned to their villages to help ease the burden of having a shortage of teachers in remote areas.
Graduate Nelly Barry said many teachers did not like to go to remote schools in New Ireland.
After she completed her studies, she decided to go back to her home village to pursue her teaching career.
Fellow student Molly Maim agreed that the lack of teachers was the biggest challenge to education in his village in Western.
The local community school sporting events and the youth ministry events motivated Maim to become a teacher.
He was sponsored by the Australian Awards for a three-year degree in teaching.
“My parents could not afford to pay my school fees so I am thankful that I was supported through the Australia Awards for three years,” Maim said. He teaches math and science in his village school.
A former elementary school teacher in Bougainville, Gorethy Menako, said one of the biggest challenges to education was competing pressure to work in their gardens.
“Most of the students in Bougainville are interested in learning but they cannot attend to their studies well,” she said.
“As they have to leave early to work in the gardens or plantations.”
Menako planned to use her newly-acquired skills and knowledge to contribute to primary education in Bougainville.
Australia Awards In-PNG Scholarships are prominent awards offered by the Australian government to support service delivery in health, education and transport.
Through study, research and practical training in PNG, scholarship recipients develop the knowledge and skills to drive change and to make positive contributions to social and economic development in the country.