Education in Papua New Guinea
Adult and child literacy have been a strong focus of government policy in Papua New Guinea—but there is still a long way to go. In 2010 the government made education free for the first three educational grade levels, and this was followed with a decision to provide free education to all students up to and including Year 10. The impact of these policies is already apparent with school attendance figures increasing sharply as children, whose parents were previously unable to pay school fees, now have the opportunity to get an education.
The World Bank is working closely with the government and development partners to address this challenge and one of the World Bank’s current interventions in Papua New Guinea—the READ PNG Project—aims to improve reading and to ensure that schools have books for students to read. The World Bank welcomes the contribution of the Book Project, whose donation will make an immediate and lasting impact in the lives of school children from Papua New Guinea’s Highlands region.
Laura Bailey,
WB Country Manager, PNG
Young minds in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea are hungry for knowledge and a book is a treasure to unlock the world for them. I want these young people to have an opportunity, the same opportunity I had reading and learning.
I grew up in a mountain valley in the Highlands and want to contribute to remote highland schools with the WBFN Book Project, to give young minds a chance to grow and learn.
There will be much excitement at our schools when the books arrive. There will also be a deep appreciation by teachers, students, and the community that people in a distant country and the volunteers from the Book Project made the effort to put together books for their schools—schools in a very remote and far away place.
Meg Taylor, VP
Compliance Advisor Ombudsman
Country: Papua New Guinea
Capital: Port Moresby
Area: 462,840 sq km
Population: 6,187,591
Location: Eastern half of New Guinea, about 160 km north of Australia
Official Languages:
- English
- Tok Pisin
- Hiri Motu
- 860 indigenous languages are also spoken
Literacy Rate:
- total: 57.3%
- men: 63.4%
- women: 50.9%
Major Exports: oil, gold, copper, coffee, cocoa, palm oil, prawns
Independence: 16 September 1975, from Australia