Training of teachers for the different sectors of education is one of the biggest challenges for the Education Department, secretary Dr Musawe Sinebare says.
He said while the focus of the government was to improve access to quality education and training, the implementation of Universal Basic Education (UBE) had brought far greater challenges.
This was in the number of teachers required, schools’ infrastructures such as classrooms plus resource materials required and other important requirements to achieve both the UBE targets and Millennium Development Goals.
The Education Department will continue to address these challenges related to UBE and other areas within the teacher education division.
It also acknowledges the continued support from the European Union to the Education sector in PNG especially in the provision of scholarships for rural teacher training.
Sinebare said this initiative would greatly support the need to train as many teachers as possible to teach children in rural settings.
While the first batch of graduates passed out last year, Sinebare was pleased to note that 219 students would continue under this programme for their two-year diploma training programme that will cost about K4,194,300.
Sinebare was speaking during an event to mark the start of the two-year diploma training of elementary teachers for elementary schools at the Bomana Primary Teachers College outside Port Moresby.
Via – The National.