Social Media distracting students in PNG

THE overall performance of students in primary and secondary schools in Papua New Guinea has dropped dramatically since the introduction of social media.

This concern was raised by Mele Olley, the principal of Port Moresby Grammar School, while addressing graduating students last Friday at the school’s 18th Grade 12 graduation. "Students spend most of their time in school on Facebook and WhatsApp, they don’t concentrate in class nor do they spend time researching and attempting their assignments and homework," she said.

"They’re more interested in posting on facebook what they have just bought from Vision City then completing that Math assignment that is due the following day."

This was confirmed recently through an independent survey carried out in a number of private schools in NCD, including POM Grammar and the Port Moresby International School.

The principal said students of these days are obsessively glued to their phones and tablets. She said they would rather look at their phones than talk to you and they would be checking who has messaged them almost every minute.

According to Ms Olley, Port Moresby Grammar is undergoing an overall administrative and curriculum restructure to keep up with digital technology. The school has invested over a million kina this year on information technology teaching facilities and equipment to revamp its teachers who are mostly familiar with the old chalk and talk method of teaching with new online teaching techniques.

She said students nowadays are knowledgeable with online activities and discussions and teachers need to utilize this mode of communication to harness them back into the academic arena.