FOREIGN EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANTS

Papua New Guinea has suffered at the hands of Australian educational consultants who led the educational system into great trouble with a half-arsed implementation of Outcome Based Education (OBE).

We urge the Department not to fall into the same trap. It is important to examine the Curriculum Vitae of all prospective consultants.

It is important that the prospective consultant has experience in primary and secondary schools. The person should not have a Doctorate in Educational Administration but be experienced in the class room, preferably in Papua New Guinea.

The applicant should not be so young as to have no idea as to the basics of literacy and numeracy. The person needs to have experienced the phonic approach to reading and at least read books by Dr Seuss for curriculum in elementary schools.

There should be awareness of the PNG culture and specific needs of boys and girls to be incorporated into curriculum. There should be no intention to include a gay and lesbian agenda in curriculum.

There must be detailed understanding of the subjects to be developed. The applicant should be experienced in teaching at least two of the subjects to PNG students. In a team of consultants, there needs to be detailed experience in all subjects.

There should be a practical approach to curriculum and not just a focus on theory. The applicant should be aware of a wide range of practical exercises.

There should be respect for OBE and Mastery Learning. Any applicant who regards these as rubbish is showing a weakness that promises to spoil their consultancy work. They want to promote theory rather than practical skills.

The applicant and team should be willing to include PNG teachers in their plans and in validation of the work.

There should be balanced and limited focus on research and preparation of students for tertiary library research. All research should be provided by the teacher in a photocopy. It is the end process in a wide range of skills.