Schools grateful for exhibition which ‘boosted students morale’

Two rural schools in Morobe that participated in the inter-school exhibition last month say the event has hugely boosted the morale of their students.
Fifteen schools took part in the exhibition, showcasing their skills and talents under various disciplines including science and technology, tourism and hospitality, agriculture, arts and culture, entertainment and public speaking.
Rural Menyamya and Markham Valley secondary schools raked in majority of the awards alongside urban schools Lae and Busu secondary.
Markham Valley principal Billy Kayo said this was a surprising achievement, given the challenges rural schools faced that at times limited student learning.
“We have a boarding population of 1,200 students who consume one tonne of rice in two and a half days,” he said.
“So with most of our funding going towards feeding our students, we don’t have money to host extra programmes that can promote learning outside the classroom.
“In addition to that, Markham Valley although a rural school, has students from across Morobe, as well as the Highlands region and Madang province just like a town school, because it’s accessible by road; this poses the challenge of teaching students from very different cultural backgrounds.
“But we’re very proud of our students’ efforts at the exhibition and we will start preparing for next year’s exhibition as early as possible.”
Menyamya Secondary School principal Casper Nani said the urban exposure was the biggest bonus for his 200 students, 10 teachers and five ancillary staff that participated in the exhibition hosted in Lae.