Education in Papua New Guinea
Department of Education
National education budget (2016)
Budget1242.8 million PGK [1]
General details
Primary languagesEnglish, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu and others
System typePublic, religious, private
Literacy (2015 est)
Total64.2% [2]
Male65.6% [2]
Female62.8% [2]
Enrollment (2014)
Total1,805,000 [3]
Primary1,427,000 [3]
Secondary243,000 (Lower) [3]
136,000 (Upper) [3]
Medical students from the UPNG School of Medicine and Health Science

Education in Papua New Guinea is managed through nineteen provinces and two district organisational units. It is tuition-free and attendance is not compulsory.[4]

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI)[5] finds that Papua New Guinea is fulfilling 68.5% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to education based on the country's level of income.[6] HRMI breaks down the right to education by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondary education. While taking into consideration Papua New Guinea's income level, the nation is achieving 96.5% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education and only 40.6% for secondary education.[6]

History

The first school in Papua New Guinea was established in 1873 by English missionaries. Missionaries would continue providing the basis for education, with English and German as primary languages. In 1914, as part of World War I, Australia took control over German New Guinea and English became the sole official language.

The Currie Commission was created in 1964 to investigate the establishment of higher education in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. In 1965 the first university in Papua New Guinea, the University of Papua New Guinea, was established. It was heavily influenced by the Australian education system.[7]

In 1995, the government of Papua New Guinea implemented a bilingual education program that uses both community languages and English.[8]

Education in Papua New Guinea has been tuition-free since 2012, as one of the election promises of the People's National Congress. This policy was cancelled in 2019 under Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's government, however, PM James Marape announced in 2021 that his government would re-institute the policy starting in 2022.[9][10]

Provision

Papua New Guinea's history of missionary education has led to a large part of education being provided by religious schools. The Department of Education has estimated that 29% of the country's lower secondary education is operated by churches. 3% is operated by private international schools, while the remainder is funded by the government.

Educational Stages

Papua New Guinea has an A-to-D grading system, with D being a failing grade.

During the first three years of formal education, community languages are taught as a subject and used for instruction. In grades seven and eight, instruction is conducted solely in English, although community languages may still be used informally. By the early 2000s, more than 400 languages were being used in Papua New Guinea’s educational system.[8][11]

Education[12]
Age Level School Language
7 Introductory Local community school Local languages
8
9 Primary
10
11
12
13 Middle
14
15 Provincial high school Official languages
(English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu)
16
17 Secondary Vocational
(duration varies)		 National high school
18
19+ Tertiary University

Universities

There are six universities in Papua New Guinea. These are accredited under the PNG Office of Higher Education and have establishing Acts of Parliament. The six universities and the main campus of each are, in alphabetical order:

Language education

In 2015, Papua New Guinean Sign Language became an official language in PNG. Based on Auslan, it is used in deaf education.

References

  1. ↑ "Papua New Guinea 2017 National Budget" pwc.com. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "The World Factbook" cia.gov. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Papua New Guinea National Education Profile" Education Policy And Data Center. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Papua New Guinea Education System". www.scholaro.com. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  5. ↑ "Human Rights Measurement Initiative – The first global initiative to track the human rights performance of countries". humanrightsmeasurement.org. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  6. 1 2 "Papua New Guinea - HRMI Rights Tracker". rightstracker.org. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  7. ↑ Richard Guy, Toshio Kosuge, Rieko Hayakawa (2000). Distance Education in the South Pacific: Nets and Voyages. Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific and Pacific Island Nations Fund, Sasakawa Peace Foundation. p. 115
  8. 1 2 Malone, Susan; Paraide, Patricia (2011). "Mother tongue-based bilingual education in Papua New Guinea". International Review of Education. 57 (5–6): 705–720. doi:10.1007/s11159-011-9256-2. ISSN 0020-8566.
  9. ↑ Hushang, Grant Walton, Husnia (2022-01-17). "The politics of free education in PNG". Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre. Retrieved 2023-12-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ "FREE EDUCATION BACK IN 2022 – PNG Haus Bung". 2021-06-15. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  11. ↑ Klaus, David (2003-06-01). "The Use of Indigenous Languages in Early Basic Education in Papua New Guinea: A Model for Elsewhere?". Language and Education. 17 (2): 105–111. doi:10.1080/09500780308666842. ISSN 0950-0782.
  12. ↑ "Papua New Guinea Education System" classbase.com. Retrieved November 08, 2017.
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