Rethinking Papua New Guinea's Education System: From Memorization to Empowerment
The education system in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is at a crossroads. For decades, it has been criticized for prioritizing rote memorization over practical skills, churning out graduates who are ill-equipped to navigate the complexities of life, entrepreneurship, and innovation. The current system, which revolves around a 12-year journey culminating in a "Higher School Certificate," often leaves students with little more than a piece of paper and a head full of theoretical knowledge that rarely translates into real-world competence. The harsh reality is that many students emerge from this system without essential life skills. They lack knowledge about financial literacy, entrepreneurship, coding, farming, or even the basics of app development. Instead, they are burdened with memorizing facts like the number of legs on a grasshopper or the longest river in PNG—information that holds little relevance to their daily lives or future careers. The system seems designed to produce empl...