01 November 2013
More graduates and better health facilities for East New Britain
Australia and Papua New Guinea today opened new education and health facilities in East New Britain that will provide more job-ready graduates and better health for communities.
Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Ms Margaret Adamson, officially opened the facilities at Sonoma Adventist College near Rabaul.
New and renovated female dormitories will provide up to 100 more places for girls next year. A new health clinic, nurse’s house and meri waiting haus provide better care for students and communities. A new food technology and health sciences block will improve the quality of vocational education.
Ms Adamson said the K2.2 million facilities built through the PNG-Australia Incentive Fund are a further boost to the education of young Papua New Guineans.
“PNG needs more educated men and women to make the most of its enormous potential,” Ms Adamson said.
“I congratulate the college giving more young women a chance to change their own futures through education, and in doing so help their families, communities and country to grow and prosper.”
Figures from 2011 show there are 78 girls for every 100 boys at the secondary school level in PNG. Acting Principal Mr Malachi Param said increasing the number of female graduates was a focus of the project.
“We also gave prominence to addressing cross-cutting issues such as HIV/AIDS, literacy, food and nutrition, gender equity and equality, the environment, and child abuse,” Mr Param said.
Ramps at the new facilities allow access for disabled people and more security features are built into dormitories for young women. Social protection is a core subject of the colleges’ teacher training. The college will use the new facilities to deliver courses in nutrition to nearby communities.
The college, which contributed 304,000 kina to the facilities, offers courses including carpentry, tropical agriculture, teacher education and business studies, and provides primary and elementary schooling.
Ms Adamson said Australia supports access to quality education from early child to universities and technical colleges.
“We work with PNG to get more girls and boys into elementary schools, keep them there for their entire primary and secondary schooling and provide options for further education,” Ms Adamson said.
Since 2000, Australia has built K350 million worth of health and education infrastructure in PNG through the Incentive Fund. The Incentive Fund supports well-managed organisations to access funding for innovative projects that have a strong development impact for the people of PNG.
The current phase of the Incentive Fund is putting 130 million kina into 20 high performing education and health projects across PNG, in alignment with PNG’s priorities.