Stark challenges in education: Bank

PAPUA New Guinea faces stark challenges in the education of its people, the World Bank has reported.
In its report titled “Papua New Guinea Economic Update: Invest in Your Children,” the bank points to stark realities in the education sector that will impact the country.
An estimated 72 per cent of ten-year-olds are not being able to read and understand age-appropriate texts, the report notes.
“These early impacts have serious longer-term effects, with only 18 per cent of 20 to 24-year-olds having completed secondary or some tertiary education. This represents a serious foregone opportunity.
“Papua New Guinea’s most important asset is its people – and improved teaching quality and education investment could turn Papua New Guinea’s young population into an engine of growth,” said World Bank lead economist for education in the Pacific, Lars Sondergaard.
“Urgent change is needed to make sure Papua New Guinea’s education system gives young people the best chance at building a strong future and contributing to their country.”
A greater focus on Papua New Guinea’s human capital – the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate through their life is urgently needed for more sustainable and lasting growth, a Special Focus section on education says.
To improve learning and foundational skills, an urgent focus on early education and investments in primary and maternal healthcare and nutrition to address childhood stunting are needed.
Increasing the quantity and quality of the teaching workforce, investing in better teaching and learning materials, and upgrading education legislation, policy, and practices will be essential in enhancing outcomes in the education sector. The country’s economy is forecast to accelerate in 2024 after a slowdown last year, yet greater investment in education is critical to the country’s longer-term economic future, a World Bank report recently released says.
Economic growth in Papua New Guinea is forecast to rise to 4.8 per cent this year from 2.7 per cent in 2023 after the reopening of the Porgera gold mine, but growth is expected to remain below its pre-pandemic trajectory, according to the World Bank’s Papua New Guinea Economic Update: Invest in Your Children report.