Education for life in Papua New Guinea

Case Study

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Imagine a boarding school where students help build or repair the buildings and help hammer together their own beds and dormitory furniture. They take turns at cooking for 500 people three times a day and raise money to help run the school by selling crops, animals or furniture. The students happily perform the work as a normal part of going to the school.

Lyn Fry, an Australian teacher, taught at this school, Hagita High School in Milne Bay province in Papua New Guinea. Lyn wanted to teach overseas, and was able to do this through the Australian Volunteers Abroad program run by Australian Volunteers International. Lyn's school days at Hagita were some of her best and most interesting because her students were keen to learn, and the school was different to most Australian schools.

Hagita High School is a Catholic 7-10 mission school. All students are boarders. They come from all over Milne Bay from nearby villages and distant islands. Some islands are a week's journey by boat. Islander boarders only go home at Christmas because term breaks are not long enough to make the trip worthwhile.

Before leaving Australia, Lyn learned as much as she could about Papua New Guinea. However, there were a number of surprises at her new school. The first was starting school at 7.30 am! Lyn was also amazed at how older students helped organise discipline, religious ceremonies, entertainment and work around the school.

The school library had few and old books, but students took good care of them. It was only possible to borrow one book at a time. The school also had little audio-visual equipment. There was a television which students could watch in the morning or evening at cooking times when the generator was on. There were no computers. The rooms had thin walls with louvre windows to let breezes through. Some rooms had ceiling fans, but there were no air conditioners. Sometimes when the school pump was not working, students washed in a nearby river and carried back water in buckets.

But these things did not stop the students from receiving an excellent education. English, Mathematics, Social Science and Science were compulsory. Lyn taught Social Science. Students also studied Religion, Home Economics and Practical Skills which included Agriculture and Furniture-making. In Agriculture, Year 7s learned how to grow vegetables; Year 8s learned how to raise pigs; Year 9s learned how to raise chickens; Year 10s learned about business for one of the three. In Practical Skills, students made coffee and dining tables, chairs, stools and desks. Physical Education was popular, and students also learnt traditional Milne Bay singing and dancing.

But a special feature of all Papua New Guinea schools was work parade. Daily, students took care of their school and helped save money for it and their parents. Students cooked, cleaned, gardened and built or repaired the buildings. This helped keep parents' fees at approximately $A300 per year, still expensive for many families. In particular, cooking was a big task performed well but made a little easier through the same food being cooked daily. Breakfast was freshly-baked rolls, sometimes with butter or jam, and tea; lunch was rice and tinned fish; dinner was also rice and tinned fish perhaps with vegetables. Many students lost weight over holidays as their families did not have as much food.

Religious feast days, cultural days and the end of year class party were major events. Lyn remembers her Year 10 class party. Students raised and saved money all year. They bought sausages, rice and apples. Australian chips and lollies cost double Australian prices and were special treats. A picnic rug of banana leaves was laid on the grass, and smaller leaves were plates. Sago palm leaves were cut from trees and torn into thin strips attached to the stems. The whispy strips hung down like streamers and were tied, with flowers, between trees around the eating area. Cut cane became barbecue tongs and leafy twigs became fly swats. Students danced and sang to the beat of the kundu drum. The party was a time of celebration as well as sadness that school days were over.

The Australian Volunteers Abroad Program receives funding from the Australian Government through AusAID.

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