For immediate release
10 August 2011
Incentive Fund boosts Girls' education
The Incentive Fund today again boosted education for many young women by supporting major improvements to another all-girl’s school.
Marianville Secondary School outside Port Moresby received over K4.7 million from the Incentive Fund towards improvements to the institution. This is the second all-girls school after Notre Dame Secondary School in Western Highlands Province that received K5.2million in June this year for its school infrastructure project.
Head of AusAID PNG, Stephanie Copus-Campbell said it was very important to improve education opportunities for young women in PNG.
“It makes good sense to invest in the education of women and girls in PNG. More girls in schools mean more women in the workforce which is ultimately good for the economy and the future development of PNG,” Ms Copus-Campbell said.
The Incentive Fund, a partnership between Australia and Papua New Guinea, through AusAID, is providing to build classrooms to accommodate 90 students, a dormitory for 48 girls, extensions to the dining hall and the home economics facility for grades eleven and twelve students, upgrade existing water system and school administration facilities and build 6 new staff houses.
A spokesman from the Department of National Planning & Monitoring said the department is pleased with the assistance through the Incentive Fund for the rehabilitation and construction of new infrastructure in the education and health sectors. “Marianville is the seventh project in the education sector out of the eleven projects this year supported by Incentive Fund and gender and education were equally high on the PNG Government’s development priorities.”
The chairman of the Incentive Fund Management Group Dr Thomas Webster said, “The Incentive Fund supported those eleven projects including Marianville because they were all well-managed institutions with innovative projects that have a strong developmental impact for the people of Papua New Guinea.”
This is not the first time Marianville has benefited from the Incentive Fund. In 2001 the secondary school received K5 million for the construction of classrooms, science laboratories, staff houses and ablution block, extension of the assembly hall and a back up generator. This upgrade allowed for an additional 201 student enrolments.