OCTOBER 13, 2022
Prime Minister Hon. James Marape says the increasing number of school leavers with no spaces in higher education institutions is an issue that needs to be seriously addressed.
He said this in Parliament today (October 13, 2022) when responding to a ministerial statement by Higher Education Research Science and Technology Minister, Hon. Don. Polye, titled ‘Fostering Demand-Driven and Technical Education in Papua New Guinea Through Strategic Interventions To Support Socio-Economic Development’.
PM Marape said restlessness was becoming obvious all over the country with an army of grade 8, 10 and 12 school leavers “with no obvious future”.
He pointed to 30,000 Grade 12 students sitting for examinations every years with space for only 11,000 in higher education institutions and 19,000 missing out. PM Marape said this was further compounded by the number of grades 10 and 10 school leavers.
“They are children of our country we have left behind,” PM Marape said.
“We have over the last 10 years produced more grade 8, 10 and 12 school leavers with no future after the exams.
“This is a serious problem we need to address today.
“Therein lies the security and safety of our country going forward.”
PM Marape appealed to leaders at all levels to make a concerted effort to address this problem “which is a national security matter”.
“If we don’t make a proper intervention in the education space, the youths of today and the youths of tomorrow, will be living in a place where they are not employed or not skilled to find or create employment,” he said.
“The problem we see today where there is restlessness – in both urban and rural areas by unskilled and unengaged citizens of our country – will compound and increase going forward into the future.
“To secure the future of our country, we must make investments in the education sector.”
PM Marape said the Government was now focused on creating 20,000 additional spaces for Grade 12 school leavers.
PM Marape announced an Asian Development Bank-funded programme to create additional spaces for these 20, 000 students.
“We will subscribe to Western-based education standards,” he said.
“I’ve just returned from USA, Australia and UK which are opening up to us to export not just labour at the lower end, but also skilled Papua New Guineans.
“Our focus on education is not just a social sector approach, but also an economic sector approach, to upskill Papua New Guineans to work in our country and create employment, as well as export.”
The Prime Minister said neighbouring Indonesia had offered 2000 spaces in technical institutions and universities to PNG.
PM Marape said at the lower level the Government wanted to see all students educated up to Grade 12 level, such as the HOPE Institute in his Tari-Pori District, which offered Flexible Open Distance Education (FODE) classes for school leavers.
“Over the last three years (at Hope Institute), we’ve brought in 50,000 people who have missed out on school, to upgrade their marks through the FODE structure,” PM Marape said.
He appealed to all districts and provincial governments “to have a keen interest in the education of our youths who are in our districts and our provinces”.
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