Mijts Blog

In PNG, children generally don’t start school until they go to Elementary school (Yrs 1 to 3) in the year they turn eight. Primary school is Years 4 to 8 so most children are at least 16 years old when they finish Primary. Many children do not go on to Secondary school. There is still a percentage (close to 40%, I think) who NEVER attend school at all – although this percentage is likely much lower in Urban areas.

Schooling is not free and many schools – especially in remote areas – are very under resourced.

There are two schools at Open Bay – a preschool/playschool for 3 to 7 yr olds which is totally funded and staffed by the timber company. They have three classes – 3 and 4 yr olds, 5 and 6 yr olds and the 7 yr olds which runs like a Prep class.

The Playschool/Preschool building.

and there is also a government school – Elementary/Primary school in the Open Bay village.

One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Open Bay was to visit this school and to deliver some books that were donated by the children of Mount Crosby School in Brisbane (where I used to be Principal before I retired). We planned our trip so as to not be there during school holidays. However, it was the last week of Term One and what we didn’t realise was that in remote areas, they sometimes finish a day early!

On the Friday, there were no students at the Elementary/Primary school – many of them were at a working bee planting flowers and gardens etc at the new cemetery!

Over 200 students attend the school and there are 7 teachers (including the headmaster.)

A message was sent out early morning and we arrived at the school at 10am to be met by most of the teachers – many of whom had been working at the cemetery for several hours but had rushed home, changed into their best clothes and turned up to show us around.

They were absolutely thrilled by the books that were donated and by a few counting board games I had made for them.

We met in this building which served many purposes – indoor activities room for students, staffroom etc (but no furniture!! – just one table and a notice board)

All my Aussie friends will appreciate the Sports House names (on the notice board)!

We spent about an hour looking at the books and talking about how they could use them.

The donation included a large selection of small books called the ‘cocky’s circle’ books which were ideal for Upper Elementary students. In fact I spotted this little girl (one of the Teacher’s daughters) already engrossed in one of these books when we returned from a tour of other classrooms!

We visited the Library and it was apparent that any donations to this school would be much appreciated. The shelves held a few books – most of them very old and included a set of encyclopaedia that was VERY out of date!

The teachers told me that they only owned one atlas and one dictionary between them and they shared them. In the Library they had one World wall map so classes were brought to the Library when they needed to refer to this map. When asked what they would most like, they asked for one atlas, one world wall map and one dictionary per classroom and one calculator per teacher. (They share one calculator between all staff to do assessments etc. ) They have no access to copying, have no computers and very limited resources for Art etc.

I talked at length to the teachers and was most impressed by their knowledge, their dedication and how they managed with such limited resources. I plan to donate those dictionaries, atlases and world maps as soon as I can acquire them!!

We were also taken to see the Year 8 classroom. I then realised that there weren’t even enough desks in the school for each student to have one. They had built these desks themselves a few years earlier and 4 or 5 students shared each desk. I was told that in some of the younger classes they had no desks and often did their work by writing with chalk on the concrete floor.

Year 8 classroom.
Some of the year 8 student project work was interesting

and there was some great traditional art and craft work

These mobiles typified their resourcefulness – made out of softdrink cans and food packaging such as from maggi two-minute noodles (there are always plenty of these around!) They do teach the 3 Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle!

This was the teacher’s desk (and most likely the only desk the headmaster has!!!)

I came away from this school visit with my passion for education intact! – and a determination to try to organise as many donations as possible – of books, desks, computers etc. I know that we will be able to organise some of them through Rotary!! I also know that there are many more schools with the same needs – some of them even worse off – with dirt floors, open air rooms (no side walls, and no furniture).

And I took one last photo to remind me never to give up in this endeavour!