Schools lack tracking system, says official

National

PAPUA New Guinea currently lacks a proper system to monitor the 2.3 million students attending school in the 89 districts of Papua New Guinea, an official says.
Department of Education assistant secretary – research and policy evaluation, James Agigo, said this yesterday in Kokopo where a workshop for district education coordinators and advisers in the New Guinea Islands is currently underway.
Agigo said with the large amount of money sent to districts, and with no proper monitoring system of different education indicators, the department saw it necessary to equip education coordinators with basic management tools to manage the district education system.
“District education coordinators must look at the number of students coming into the education system and start projecting the number of classrooms, new schools, number of teachers, teacher qualifications and planning the education sector growth at district level,” he said.
“They must be able to identify some success areas, issues to be identified and bring to district authorities and local MPs and provincial authorities to address.
“Currently, we have about 2.3 million students in the national education system,  with East New Britain having 91, 000 students which is the lowest while the highest number is found in Momase and Highlands regions.”
The workshop has already been conducted in the Southern region and will continue on to Momase and Highlands.