Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Education a must for every child in Papua New Guinea (PNG)
“Education is a catalyst for change. Without education we would not be where we are today ’’, says Education Minister James Marape (left), when addressing a broad spectrum of people, including senior education officers.
The occasion was the launch of two educational reports – Addressing Localised Student Absenteeism and School Withdrawal, and Curriculum and Learning in Papua New Guinea - produced by the National Research Institute.
He said the National Government was doing what it could including giving the largest slice of the country’s budget to education, but in order to ensure the education services improve and reach masses of people, it required more than money.
It also requires everyone doing their part – parents, teachers, community, and the different tiers of the government – some of whom are currently either not doing their part or are doing something, but need to improve.
Mr. Marape said every MP was being given so much money for their electorates and needed to use some of these money for education such as helping fund construction of school buildings and other education services. He was particularly emotional when he talked about the need for parents to ensure children have food to eat so they are not hungry while at school, their fees are paid and if they cannot that they should work with the schools to come up with some solutions.
He noted his own early upbringing in Oksapim in remote part of Sandaun Province where his father was a missionary. He says his mum would walk him 9km to school and back everyday when he begun school at the age of six years old.
She also always ensured that young Marape had food in his bag. He challenged parents but particularly dads to change if they were among those who spend their earnings on pokies and beer or on brideprice and other cultural obligations but refused to meet their family obligations such as paying of school fees for the children and ensuring that their children had food to take to school.
Mr Marape had made these comments in reference to the reports, one of which had highlighted hunger as one of the factors contributing to the country’s high absenteeism and withdrawal from school. He also defended the education reforms, saying these were introduced because of a need.
Previously, he said, the education system had created ‘the elites’ or a small percentage of people who were able to make it up the educational ladder and eventually get a job. Those who could not, which was a large percentage, and was increasing, found themselves misfits in society.
Under the reforms, he said the two issues were being addressed – accessibility and quality- although there was a long way to go before the latter was achieved. In accessibility to education, he said, there were now more than 89 secondary schools so there was a high number of students going onto grade 11 and 12.
Source: The Highlands Post
The occasion was the launch of two educational reports – Addressing Localised Student Absenteeism and School Withdrawal, and Curriculum and Learning in Papua New Guinea - produced by the National Research Institute. He said the National Government was doing what it could including giving the largest slice of the country’s budget to education, but in order to ensure the education services improve and reach masses of people, it required more than money.
It also requires everyone doing their part – parents, teachers, community, and the different tiers of the government – some of whom are currently either not doing their part or are doing something, but need to improve.
Mr. Marape said every MP was being given so much money for their electorates and needed to use some of these money for education such as helping fund construction of school buildings and other education services. He was particularly emotional when he talked about the need for parents to ensure children have food to eat so they are not hungry while at school, their fees are paid and if they cannot that they should work with the schools to come up with some solutions.
He noted his own early upbringing in Oksapim in remote part of Sandaun Province where his father was a missionary. He says his mum would walk him 9km to school and back everyday when he begun school at the age of six years old.
She also always ensured that young Marape had food in his bag. He challenged parents but particularly dads to change if they were among those who spend their earnings on pokies and beer or on brideprice and other cultural obligations but refused to meet their family obligations such as paying of school fees for the children and ensuring that their children had food to take to school.
Mr Marape had made these comments in reference to the reports, one of which had highlighted hunger as one of the factors contributing to the country’s high absenteeism and withdrawal from school. He also defended the education reforms, saying these were introduced because of a need.
Previously, he said, the education system had created ‘the elites’ or a small percentage of people who were able to make it up the educational ladder and eventually get a job. Those who could not, which was a large percentage, and was increasing, found themselves misfits in society.
Under the reforms, he said the two issues were being addressed – accessibility and quality- although there was a long way to go before the latter was achieved. In accessibility to education, he said, there were now more than 89 secondary schools so there was a high number of students going onto grade 11 and 12.
Source: The Highlands Post
Diversified Managed Funds For Workers
By Reginald Renagi
As apart from the traditional pension or superannuation funds in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the government needs to make it a big part of its financial market reforms to also establish other diversified types of ‘Managed Funds’ with specific benefits 
products to cater for the overall needs of the majority of income-earners in the country.
The public need other alternative investment choices other than just putting their hard-earned savings in the banks and only getting a pittance for it.
While most super funds have grown over the years due to membership increases, fundamentally they have not changed much since being established. New managed funds are needed for future investments by the public and should be creatively designed so that the fund benefits also extend not only to members, but also to their spouses’, children and immediate families.
The super funds in Papua New Guinea so far are set up fundamentally for single purposes to generally provide for future needs. They are a single old savings scheme to give workers some security at retirement and in their old-age.
Simply, they are life-long financial plans – an investment vehicle of member’s personal financial planning. All in all, they provide a great advantage to the average worker who might otherwise not hav
e the means available for a planned retirement.
The government when designing future managed funds must be careful to ensure inbuilt hedging mechanisms are in place to safeguard against two factors: inflation and increasing life-expectancy.
For the benefit of citizens, the government will need to introduce other suitable managed funds for all categories of workers and their families to enjoy new fund benefits as:
· * * Home savings to buy a home;
· * * Medical bills;
· * * Children’s tertiary education;
· * * Invest in shares; and
· * * Premium for personal and Home Insurance.
The country’s new fund’s products must also cover a wide range of financial instruments from property, insurance to stocks (shares) and unit trusts. So upon retirement, workers have a sizable ‘nest-eg
g’ to see them through in retirement years.
What’s more, it must also be made a future government policy to encourage all citizens the importance of long-term financial planning.
Hence, the future challenge now is for both the government and managed funds trustees to continue introducing innovative,yet conservative savings and investment strategies of allowing its national workforce in all categories to intelligently use their managed funds in meeting their future expectations.
