EDUCATION IS NOT EDUCATION IN PNG

Having been a teacher of grades 7-10 in Papua New Guinea for several years, I feel sadness at the low standard of study and achievement of so many students.

The problem lies with the absence of text books for each student and a lack of paper for study work to be photocopied. So students can not study ahead or revise.

They just sit and wait for the teacher to summarize a topic on the blackboard. The teacher will walk into class and tell the students to open their work exercise book.

The teacher then copies a summary on the blackboard to be copied into the exercise book. Many students will take 8 minutes out of a 40 minute lesson to rule up their page nicely and copy the title topic on to the page.

Then for 30 minutes they write the summary on to their pads. It took 5 minutes to start. So once the topic has been copied, the lesson is over.

There will be no group work or class discussion or teacher explanation in most lessons. There is not the time.

The text books are often very poorly designed. The chapters set out the theory. There is no mastery of skills. When the weekly test comes, there will be the requirement to recall the theory.

And that is the year of study week in week out.

They learn the theory of hospitality but never make a cocktail or prepare food. They learn about family but never consider how to solve a family problem.

Students learn the theory of chemistry but have no practical work. There are no chemicals in the school and no bunsen burners or test tubes.

But they know the theory of litmus paper, catalysts, acids and bases. But really they have no idea of what it is all about. It is just a scientific fairy story.

The problem is that most teachers only know the theory of the subject but nothing about the practical application. That is how they were taught.

There were many factors involved in the failure of Outcome Based Education. But the general low standard as explained above is a major causative factor.

I believe I have always been a successful teacher in Papua New Guinea having worked to promote practical mastery of skills based on the theory. Please click:

SUPPORT TO TEACHERS ON MASTERY

There are students in PNG classes who play a cunning trick. The teacher has given the class 10 questions to answer as summarized on the blackboard.

So the lazy students rule up their exercise book (8 minutes). Then they diligently write the questions down in their book (10 minutes).

By that time the teacher is ready to go through the questions. Some lazy students will then put in the answers as provided by the teacher. Others will just have the questions and no answers.

It looks as if these students are working hard. But they are just lazy bums who have never answered a practice question in their school lives. Then they fail.

It may be unfair to make this criticism of some students who are in grade 9 and illiterate. They can not study because they can not read. They can not understand the English of the teacher.

They know very little of the world. Who is the prime minister of Australia? Nelson Mandela. Who is the new prime minister of PNG? Sir Paulias Matane. Please click:

FRUSTRATION OF AN EXPATRIATE