Papua New Guinea, Kokoda College

PNG struggles to provide universal access to education for all school-aged children; and in PNG’s out-of-school population, girls outnumber boys 2:1 (UNESCO). There is a paucity of teachers resulting in many out-of-school children; and existing teachers struggle to access support, upskilling and in-service opportunities. The introduction of Tuition-Fee-Free Education was fraught with difficulties, unreliable transfers of subsidies, and overcrowding of classrooms; and the recent re-structure of the schooling system (1-6-6) lacks strategy and clarity for teachers who are at risk of losing their jobs due to limited pathways into upgrading. These issues are compounded in remote areas.