Dr Uke Kombra

The notice has been given through the Secretary’s Circular Instruction No 8 of 2017.

While commending the teachers and students who resumed Term 3 on Monday, July 10, Secretary for Education, Dr Uke Kombra, said it is very important that all students attending schools within the National Education System meet the approved instructional hours to be eligible for graduation and to sit for the Grade 8, Grade 10 and Grade 12 examinations.

Therefore teachers must be at the schools and must perform their teaching and other curricular duties.

The 70 male students who were in class when the dormitory burnt down lost all their personal belongings. The fire, which was aided by strong winds, engulfed the building, leaving the students with no chance to rescue their belongings as it burnt down very quickly.

The extreme heat had also affected the nearby dormitory housing 80 other male students, which is now uninhabitable. Students from both dormitories are now accommodated temporarily at the Yumi Yet properties at Gerehu, which is costing the College K70,000.

Secretary for Education Dr Uke Kombra said they’d like to see library services established right across the country in the 22 provinces and 89 districts as it is very essential in the education system.

Dr Kombra said the Department of Education is there to support the Office of Libraries and Archives (OLA) to also have libraries extended to every school in the country.

“A lot of the districts are implementing the library plan but we need to have an advocacy plan in place on the importance of libraries.

The recently launched National Library, Archives and Records Services 10 Year Strategic Plan 2016-2025 aims to deliver sustainable, accessible, fair, equal and quality library and archives services to the people.

Kombra revealed that before the Board was established, there was a lack in the governance system.

He said there was a vacuum in the way the governance of this agency was managed and there were a lot of issues.

The last NLA Board meeting was held in 2006 and it has been 11 years since the Office of Library and Archives operated without the NLA Board.

The Government, through National Executive Council decision No: 25/2016, in no uncertain terms directed that no fees of any sort relating to student enrolment be imposed upon parents.

Education Secretary Dr. Uke Kombra said in line with the NEC decision, he has issued circular instructions; 2/16 and 2/17 in 2016 and 2017.

Kombra said: “Still, reports are coming in that a number of schools are imposing fees, including withholding certificates to collect so-called outstanding fees from parents. That is uncalled for.

Education secretary Dr. Uke Kombra said religious education is one component that has been captured in the Culture and Community subject under the new Standards-Based Curriculum (SBC).

The SBC learning kit is now being distributed to all 7,000 schools throughout the country. Each kit contains SBC elementary syllabuses, teacher guides and English materials.

Kombra said they will seriously look into introducing religious education, values and attitudes in the curriculum.

The Secretary for Education, Dr Uke Kombra is issuing the advice according to the Secretary’s Instruction No. 12 of 2016.

“The title ‘school inspector’ was used in the past until it was changed to ‘standard officer’ when the Standards Division of the Department, formerly known as Inspections and Guidance Division, was going through an inspection review process in 2016,” Dr Kombra said in a statement.

“This review saw a shift in inspectors’ work from teacher appraisal to whole school improvement and accountability.”

According to the Department of Education projections, it is assumed that possibly 70% or 140,000 will proceed into grade 9 and 10 secondary education.

However, Secretary for Education Dr Uke Kombra has raised concerns as to where the students will be at the 6th Provincial Vocational Centres Co-ordinators’ Conference in Port Moresby on Monday.

“Where will these students go after Grade 10 if our upper secondary schools only cater for 50% of the graduands? 

“Where will these 105,000 students go to?  What will they be doing?

A total of 63, 535 Grade 10 students will sit the examination which starts on Monday, October 10 and ends on Friday, October 14.

Following that, the Upper Secondary School Certificate Examinations (Grade 12) begins on Monday, October 17 and ends on Wednesday, October 26. A total of 24, 710 students are sitting this exam.

The Basic Education Examination will follow on Monday, October 24 and ends on Thursday, October 27. This exam will see a total of 124, 095 Grade 8 students throughout the country sitting for it.

The briefing sessions was held at the Department of Education at Waigani from Sept 19-21, 2016.  

The theme of the briefing was “Enhancing Quality Skills Development for a Better Tomorrow”.

The prinicipals further called on the Department of Education (DoE) to begin to plan strategically to cater for large numbers of students, who leave annually at the end of Grades 8, 10 and 12, as currently experienced. 

Many students will leave at the end of Grades 8, 10 and 12 because of limited spaces at the various levels of education.