Low literacy rate in Papua New Guinea a worry, teacher says

 THE literacy rate in the Duke of York Islands in East New Britain still remains low as locals continue to struggle to accessing better and quality education for their children.
Kabilomo Primary School head teacher Jeniffer Babate said this on Tuesday at Kabilomo when speaking during a visit by the United States Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Walter North.
She said 38 years had passed since the country gained independence but education levels and standards on the island were still lagging.
Babate said transport was a huge problem for many schools as they relied heavily on sea transport to access resources from Kokopo in the mainland.
She said teachers’ housing was also an ongoing problem, adding that the majority of the teachers’ houses were long overdue for maintenance.
“We struggle to access educational resources to help us with lessons for the children, resulting in low quality of education. Young children are a special group, they require special attention and in order for them to learn effectively, their learning environment should be resourceful,” Babate said.
She said a big slice of the educated population on the island were still without jobs.
The US delegation led by Ambassador North presented a small pack of library books to Kabilomo Primary School and included copies of American geography, USA sketches and US history. 
There are 14 elementry schools, 10 primary schools, one high school and one vocational school in the islands. The National