Department of Education

Quality teaching vital

This is a statement by the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) chairman, Samson Wangihomie during the dedication service of the Department of Education and Office of Library and Archives held last week.

This is aligned with the theme for this year, “Transform Teaching and Learning to Achieve Reality Education through effective Service Delivery”.

Mr Wangihomie divided the theme “TTESD” into three parts first being the Transforming Teaching and Learning, starting with teacher training.

Education department launches new website

The upgraded website and its web-based applications now gives easy access to information and data for its users.

Secretary for Education, Dr. Uka Kombra stated that the user –friendly website can now be accessed by the teachers, students, parents and guardians and their many partners, stakeholders, and the general public at large using tablets and mobile phones.

The website also hosts a number of important applications for the teachers and the public servants from the department to access.

Training institute uphold education policy

It also stresses the academia adage, ‘no student is a failure,’ by not letting student’s enrollment to be influenced by non or part payment of school fees.

During the second graduation at Malibu Estate in Lae, the College Principal revealed the secret behind an increasing enrollment number of students in its early years.

“What we do here may sound uneconomical, as we are sharing the costs and spreading the fees of those students who are paying in full with others who do not have the fees, through consensual agreement with the students who pay in full,” Kipsy said.

MOU signed to import skilled TVET teachers

A trip was taken to the Philippines from September 24th to the 30th headed by Minister Jimmy Uguro, and comprised of the Secretary for Education, Dr. Uke Kombra and senior technical officers from the department. 

The purpose of the trip was to meet with the Office of Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) which is the TVET authority in Philippines, and also to sign an MOU with the Humanlink International Manpower Agency. 

Teachers undergo in-service training

The National District Services under the Department of Education facilitated the training which started on Monday, 3rd of July, and ends this Friday.

The focus is to standardized the programming component under the theme “Quality Training for Quality Teaching and Learning."

NCD education service, first acting secretary Peter Kants spoke at the opening of the week-long in-service training for NCD teachers.

LEED Report shows outcomes

This report launched early this month is for the Literacy Enrichment and Education Development (LEED) Program. With one of the key aspects of the LEED Program is the training of teachers to know how to use the Bilum Books Standard Based Curriculum for English teacher guides and student books.

The Bilum Books SBC English is an all in one literacy program designed to teach the skills of English to students no matter their mother tongue.

How schools are registered

Assistant secretary of early childhood education, Michael Mera, said the minimum operating standards is a set of guidelines that enables provinces to make recommendations to the education department.

“The minimum operating standard is policed by the school inspectors,” explained Mera.

“So the inspector, upon request by the provincial education board (PEB), will visit the school and follow through the minimum guidelines to see whether the school has complied with it.”

Some of the factors that will be taken into consideration include:

PNG-Aus Education program launched

The launch coincided with the official opening of the 2023 academic year at Dapu Primary School in Vanimo and in West Sepik.

PIE is an eight-year Australian funded investment designed to improve access, equity and student learning outcomes in the early grades. The program operates at the national and subnational level in four target locations of Enga, Central, West Sepik and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

School Term Dates Revised

Secretary for the Department of Education Dr. Uke Kombra said that teachers and students around the country must take note of school term dates for Primary and Secondary schools.

As instructed, the previous school terms dates have been revised and changed and now coincide with the election dates.

Adjustments were only made to school terms 2 and 3, and not term 4.

The school calendar as per revised and instructed goes;

Textbooks, Tablets For Schools

Yesterday, Tuesday March 01, the Ambassador to Japan, H.E Nobuyuki Watanabe handed over National Textbooks for Mathematics and Science and Tablet devices to the Department of Education.

Secretary for Education, Dr. Uke Kombra received the educational gifts on behalf of the Minister for Education, Jimmy Uguro, who was unable to attend.   

The National Textbooks development project known as the Project for Improving the Quality of Mathematics and Science Education or QUIS-ME was launched in 2016, funded by the JICA and Japanese Government including technical assistance.