THE Papua New Guinea Government is bringing back its free education policy next year (2022), paying the full tuition fees of students from pre-school to Grade 12. Education secretary Dr Uke Kombra said it would be a relief for parents, who had been enjoying the policy since 2012 until January last year when they were told to pay 37 per cent of tuition fees. “The increase in school fees (since January last year) has been a great challenge for parents in the period of the Coronavirus, when they had to find money to put food on the table while paying school fees. The Government’s aid would be a relief for parents next year,” he said. The Education sector has been allocated K632 million in the 2022 national budget, compared to K486 million this year. Students in pre-school up to Grade 12 attending government-recognised schools would be exempted from paying fees in 2022.
But Kombra said parents would still be required to pay project fees and other necessary fees required by schools. Yesterday, former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, who introduced the free education policy in 2012 and watched as his successor James Marape changed it in 2020, said it was just another election promise. “They (Government) do not have the funding (for the tuition-fee free education),” he said. “The PNC (People’s National Congress) had that policy for eight years. They shouldn’t have cancelled it. “Three years of suffering. Kids and families have suffered for three years. A little bit too late.” Dr Kombra said the education department would continue to demand more from the Government because the number of students sitting examinations was increasing every year, and the security of examination answers was a concern. He urged the Government to continue supporting education in PNG as it was the backbone of the country. “The measurement service division (MSD) was supposed to be given K19 million to support the Grade 10 and 12 examinations this year but was only given K16 million. The MSD managed to carry out the exams successfully,” Dr. Kombra said. He also said the change to a standard-based curriculum from an outcome based curriculum had shown positive changes in teaching and learning in schools. He was also pleased with the Flexible Open and Distance Education for the increase in its enrolment from 30,000 to 50,000. Source : The National / PNG Education News Next : Top Performing National High Schools -2021 Comments are closed.
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