Six right age to start school, says official

Six is the right age for enrolling children in schools, an official says.
Pricilla Rasehei, of the research and evaluation division of the Education Department, said older children had higher chances of dropping out of school.
“It is better to enrol children for school at the right age when they can develop psychically and mentally, in the right state to perform their full potential in class,” she said.
“From our records, statistics show that many of the provinces have very high enrolment of over and under-age students.”
Due to delayed entry, however, it is now possible to have four-and-a-half-year-olds sitting and learning alongside six-year-olds.
The developmental abilities of children at various ages are vastly different.
Placing a younger child with someone older in the same class will have differences in their learning abilities, thus places additional strains on teachers who are required to differentiate the curriculum to meet all children’s needs. Statistics showed that Gulf was the province with the highest portions under and over-aged students at 82 per cent.
Gulf is followed by East Sepik 77 per cent, National Capital District 76 per cent, Milne Bay 68 per cent, Madang 64 per cent, East New Britain 63 per cent and Oro 54 per cent.
Western Highlands and Enga have a 50-50 per cent, which means 50 per cent are children over and under age and the other half are enrolled at the right age of six.
Primary school starting age (years) in Papua New Guinea was reported at six years in 2015, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognised sources.
However, the Government’s tuition fee free (TFF) policy has triggered an unprecedented increase in enrolments at all levels.
It impacted on minority and disadvantaged groups having the opportunity to access education.
The TFF policy brought about unprecedented increase in enrolment.
The increased enrolment is chaotic to manage.