The academic performance of students will be greatly affected in a crowded classroom.
There will be less interaction with teachers, and teachers will also have to work long hours to prepare lessons or mark papers.
The principal of the Malahang Technical Secondary School in Lae outlined these challenges as he struggles with the influx of Grade Nine students.
The Malahang Technical Secondary School in Lae, with a capacity of 200 Grade Nine students, has now registered 360 new students; with more parents and guardians lining up outside their administration to push their children in.
Principal Winstanly Taomba said because of the influx of students, they will have to construct two makeshift classrooms to have a total of six Grade Nine classes.
As it is, their teacher-to-student ratio is 1:40, but he anticipates a class of at least 50 students to just one teacher. And the issue is further compounded as Malahang Tech is a dual curriculum institution; students study regular academic subjects as well as trade courses.
“During our time, we go into a class and a teacher has space to walk around, check the students’ books but now, we can’t,” he outlined. “The teachers will just stay in front. We’re operating like colleges and universities where lectures are done. Right now, we are doing lectures instead of teaching.
“It’s a big problem. Not just Malahang but all the schools in this province and even Papua New Guinea. Population is increasing, infrastructure development in all education institutions is stagnant.”
Morobe’s provincial program advisor for education, Keith Tangui, pointed out that this is an outcome of the government’s free education policy. More students are being enrolled in schools with limited infrastructure.
With the issue of “over-selection” of Lae’s Grade Nine students, the Morobe Provincial Education Board is currently looking at options, and one of them is to put the extra Grade Nine students in a classroom at Markham Road Primary School. This will happen after Malahang and Bumayong are filled to capacity.
“Education is their right and all children must go to school,” said Tangui. “That’s the provincial education agenda.
“So, we will talk with the principals to ensure that some of our Bugandi teachers can do teaching at Markham Road. Also, the government has given us support by setting up the FODE centres. FODE is established in all the secondary schools so that those who cannot make it to Grade 12 or they want to upgrade, FODE centre is there.”