In an effort to make Christian education more affordable for students, Seventh-day Adventist schools in the Papua New Guinea Union Mission (PNGUM) will join the united National Education System (NES) at the beginning of the 2006 school year.
In an effort to make Christian education more affordable for students, Seventh-day Adventist schools in the Papua New Guinea Union Mission (PNGUM) will join the united National Education System (NES) at the beginning of the 2006 school year.
Michael Liamo, PNG Minister for Education, made the announcement on Nov. 7. Liamo said he is pleased the discussions between the National Education Board and the church came to a successful conclusion. The two sides had been working for more than two years to bring the plans to completion.
Becoming a part of the NES will mean teachers at Adventist schools will receive their wages from the PNG Teaching Services Commission, and teaching appointments will be made in consultation with the relevant Provincial Education Boards.
Individual schools will be eligible for additional school subsidies and resource allocations, and there will be a significant reduction in school fees because of the additional government assistance. This reduction will make church education affordable to grassroots communities as well as their more affluent urban counterparts.
“This is a direct answer to prayer for the church in PNG,” says Steve Piez, education director for the PNGUM. “[Our] education system has been in serious decline for the past 10 years. This new partnership will assist the church’s education program to achieve its primary goal of taking empowering, gospel-focused education to every corner of this country—even the poorest and most remote regions.”
Since before the millennium the Adventist school system in PNG has been in serious decline. Due to a downturn in the economy, increases in population and the inability of many parents to meet the most basic school expenses, 23 primary and secondary schools were closed between 1998 and 2003, and total enrollments plummeted from 10,511 to 6,930—a loss of 3581 students, according to Piez. Compounding these problems was the cessation of the PNG government’s annual grant-in-aid package to the church’s education system.
Piez says, “Despite this, the local [churches] did their best to keep schools open. In many places, teachers’ wages were drastically cut to a mere $93 (in Australian dollars) per month or even less. However, these measures were not enough and schools continued to close.”
The PNGUM executive committee decided in September 2003 that the best solution to the problems would be to join the unified NES and become an education agency in partnership with the National Department of Education.
“The Adventist school system is very respected and no one wants the schools to close its doors,” says Dr. Andrea Luxton, associate director of education for the Adventist world church. “The churches faced having to close down schools because of a lack of funding. They found it is better to work with government than to close schools completely.”
While teaching staff will receive their wages from the government, they will still be considered mission teachers and by law will be required to comply with church policies and educational philosophy.
Piez adds, “I would also like to assure church members that PNGUM is not merely handing over its schools to the government. The school system will still belong to the church but will be better situated to serve its purpose.”
