Wawin National School of Excellence in Morobe has graduated 18 Grade 12 students undertaking science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects during its 21st graduation last week.
Principal Pal Pu said these 18 students studied STEM subjects while 152 students were taught outcome based education curriculum. He said it’s a government directive to implement STEM at the six national high schools and they are implementing it this year so these students are pioneers of STEM.
He said while the outcome based education curriculum students sit for their Grade 12 national examinations, the STEM students will also sit for STEM examinations and both will graduate with different certificates.
Implementing the STEM subjects apart from OBE subjects has its own challenges but the teachers remain committed to ensure the STEM subjects are taught properly to achieve the government’s vision of producing creators, innovators and inventors.
PNG continues to depend on expertise from other countries and the introduction of STEM is aimed to address this so we can produce our own human resources that are able to be creative, innovative and inventive utilizing our resources and raw materials through downstream processing into finished products.
Mr Pu
Morobe Governor Luther Wenge was the guest of honour and commended Wawin for taking a bold step to rollout the government policy directive on STEM.
He said the pioneers are eligible to sit for the STEM examinations and these students must be proud of their effort to be selected to study the STEM subjects.
He pledged support to see the STEM students intake increased to between 50-100 next year because the national government has banked on their skills to make a change for PNG.
In appreciation for the school pioneer STEM graduation, Governor Wenge presented a total of K1,800 to the students giving K100 to all graduating STEM students during the graduation.