Govt flags K10 billion education plan for all

The Government is determined to reduce the increasing number of school aged children who are out of school through the implementation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) plan which aims to achieve 100 % enrolments for the same group by 2018.Education Minister James Marape said this week that this undertaking was consolidated at the recent PNG-Australia ministerial forum in Brisbane, with Australia pledging its support for the national UBE framework.

The Department of Education’s UBE plan 2009-18 is in line with United Nations guidelines and promotes the objective of increasing enrolments from elementary to Grade Eight and ensures those who cannot go on to Grade Nine can enter technical skills training and relevant career paths.“During the time-span of the plan, we would further subsidise fees for students in elementary to primary and are looking at an estimated cost of K10 billion.

Children of PNG are eager to go to school and learn new stuff if this news becomes a reality and plans work out well as mentioned

At the same time we are mindful of the influx of school leavers at the end of Grade Eight,” Mr Marape said.“To extend the UBE framework after 2018 and taking into account the huge influx at the end of Grade Eight, the Australian government and other donor agencies would be invited to co-fund our national programmes, and they would be assisting in a big way,” he added.

The minister iterated that the department would ensure the education system was expanded in a big way where there would be four regional technical schools set up together with the existing technical schools having the Australian Pacific Technical College (APTC) level for students to be able to attain an internationally recognised technical training qualification.Under the expanded UBE policy, PNG would achieve enrolment of 70% of school aged children by 2015.

These guys from Goroka, E.H.P. are so excited that they can't wait to go to school

Meanwhile, announcing the release of the 2009 education subsidies, the minister warned that the department would be auditing programmes within schools to ensure there was transparency and accountability in how education fee subsidies were used.

Source: The National News

*** This is good music to listen to for poor parents (myself included) who over the years reached deeper into their pockets to pay for their children's school fees. However, I wonder how the government would make available all the funds to cater for this immense plan because the current education subsidies are not reaching the schools and as the papers reported, most of the schools were closed a week early for the second term.

Those of us who are keen supporters of education really want to see adequate funding that is necessary to implement this proposal. Otherwise, this is another rhetoric for major political parties and their leaders to lure voters in 2012. You know what's happening in 2012, right?

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