‘Over-selection’ is currently an issue in Lae, Morobe Province.
With hundreds of Grade Eight students performing well in their 2023 national examinations, secondary schools in Lae are now unable to fit them all in.
The top schools of Bugandi, Lae Secondary and Busu are turning students and their parents and guardians away due to limited space.
14-year-old Sandra William was initially selected from Omili Primary School to continue her Grade Nine at the Lae Secondary School.
She and her elder sister, Nialel Matambuai, went to Lae Secondary on Friday, February 2nd, to only be informed that she would be sent to the Malahang Technical Secondary School instead.
The disappointed 14-year-old burst into tears when she was told that there was no space for her in her dream school.
“I was upset, seeing my sister cry,” said elder sibling, Nialel. “I was angry but just because I had work to do, I let it sit until today. She was selected here, for Lae secondary,” Nialel said, pointing to the acceptance letter. “But now they’re sending us there isn’t right.”
Just like other parents and guardians, the siblings went to the provincial education office at Tutumang Haus and were given a second letter of acceptance for the Malahang Technical Secondary School.
Lae Secondary School Principal, Christopher Raymond, who is currently in Port Moresby, described it as an “over-selection of Grade Nine students”.
He outlined that while his school has a capacity for 550 Grade Nine students, 832 were selected. He urged the selection committee to reduce the number, which they did – by 100. But that was still over their capacity.
While Lae Secondary created an extra class – 9K – to cater for 60 more students, they still had 122 without a space.
Raymond said Bugandi had 57 extra students while Busu had 67.
In a meeting with other school principals last week, it was agreed that the additional students be sent to Malahang and Bumayong Lutheran Secondary School.
Lae Secondary used to have 36 classes from Grades 9 to 12 – the highest in Morobe Province. The new class of 9K increases the number to 37, with the principal emphasising that his teachers are already overloaded and overworked.
Lae Secondary now has 11 Grade Nine classes, 10 Grade 10 classes and 8 classes each for grades 11 and 12.