Teachers outnumbered
The National, Wednesday July 10th, 2013
By ZACHERY PER
THE Government’s free education policy has forced schools to breach the official teacher-student ratio of 45 students to one teacher, the National Education Conference in Goroka heard yesterday.
Goroka Secondary School principal John Onga said he had more than 60 students in a class looked after by a single teacher.
He blamed the Government’s lack of preparation for the increased school capacity in teaching manpower and classroom facilities before introducing the free-education policy that saw an influx of students enrolling.
Onga said that was one factor affecting the quality of education.
Conference chairman Michael Mel said there was a critical need to review the education reforms to assess the quality of education and to open accessibility to the masses.
Mel said the conference looked at what could be done to realise Vision 2050 through education.
“For a Papua New Guinea child that is yet to go to a formal school or is yet to be born, what kind of education do we want to provide to help realise and live the dream of a ‘smart, fair, wise, healthier and happy society’ by 2050?” Mel asked.
Office of Higher Education director-general David Kavanamur said the country’s success would depend on the quality of education.
He said the conference aimed at finding out how best to produce citizens who were healthier and intellectually fit to have a high ethical and moral conduct.