Gents and lads,

lets discuss and make crtique of the Free Education and Free Health Service policy by the O'Neil-Nemah government.

This policy is debatable and I beleive all the participants in this national forum are equip to draw up the pros and cons of such policy that will have both positive and negative impact on our education system in PNG today and in the future.

Please lets put our thinking caps on an talk................


Political Strategist.

"Free" access to POOR health care and POOR education (most of our schools don't have even basic learning resources - all they are is the shell of classrooms) does little to nothing to life PNG out of the bottom of the barrel in our achievement of health and education. So what's the point? Virtually every PNG family, even in remote rural areas, have found more than one way to make SOME money. Yes, it's hard work but they can do it. It would be far better if everyone pays a little and the government uses the money it saves to finally provide a better quality of health and education where students actually learn something and people's lives are regularly saved.

There is no such thing as "free". SOMEONE is paying for it, and right now it is mostly revenue from nonrenewable resources. By their very definition nonrenewable resources are non-sustainable. Thus, the current "free" education is neither free nor sustainable.

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I was flipping through the pages on the pngscape and came across this page which posses a question about the free education policy in PNG introduced by the O'Neil-Nemah government.

I for one do not beleive in something that is free.. You will hardly get something in this word free of charge. I beleive there is nothing as free education or free health services in the world. Can someone with a wealth of experience and exposure to the globe provide a country, particularly a developing country like PNG that has delivered a free education and effectively and efficiently sustained its policy????

I don't think any. Free is something that I have never heard of. You will hardly provide something that of higher value and more critical to the future of our children free of charge.

It would be much sensible and appropriate to come up with a policy that would share the responsibility of our children's school fees between the government and the parents...lets say the government pays 50% and the other 50% is met by the parents and the relatives of the children.

That is a subsidized education policy and that is manageable.

From my personal view I think the free education and the health policy is a political gymmicks by the Oneil-Nemah government. It is assumed that the government might have run out of best policies that is more applicable and manageable in the future.

On the other hand, we have breakdown and deteriorated educational infrastructures and learning facilities. The education department and the government are unable to manage well the infrastructures by doing maintainance for the smooth and effective running of the facilities.

If the government can not be able to address the poor and worrying conditions of the basic educational infrastructures and making available the learning facilities, then there goes the question begging......how can the government sustain the free education policy in the coming years while taking into consideration the other challeges like the increase in the number of students intake that demands for the development of extra infrastructures and classrooms/learning facilities??

The next question that worth asking is also the ability of the government and the training institutions to ensure the graduating students from the different tertiary instutions get a descern job,employment.

I am not convinced by the reason of the free education policy and health care policy by the Oneil-Nemah government.

PNG need a leadership that will challenge the status quo and come up with workable and much sustainable policies to empower the rural population to be more independant and competent in becoming enterprenuers and earning enough money for themselves through self-reliance and pay school fees for their children.

O'Neil-Namah's free education policy will ruin the lives of the people by making them depend on the government by giving the people false hope that the cost of their children education is free or fully met by the government.


Its important to discuss on this topic.


Nationalist

Hi there Nationalist, I conquer with you. those useless pussy-heads, we need to advice them. ol kanaka save longlong yet..

I fully Agree with you Nationalist,
I never seen or heard any country give free educations but Medical treatment yes.
In America they call Health Medicare for the Citizens recieving free treatment from the local GP but People have to pay for their own Medications.

O'neil thinks he can use the money from the LNG but if he does that,it can only last for the period the project is on. or might not work at all.

Lets wait and see.

I can guarantee you that the "free medical care" you're talking about was paid for by the recipients through taxes paid.

There is NOTHING free in this world. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

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One can boast of free education from primary to secondary but do we have QUALITY teachers to teach our kids.. Do we have better teaching materials in this modern world?? Lecturers of all colleges to universities in PNG are honestly very incompetent. The govt just can't afford to hire highly qualified lecturers from all over the globe, what they have is some bunch of semi-qualified people who can't find a place in the industry with no backup training, research whatsoever. Can this people educate the young?? Not at all.l

Your posting hits the nail on the head. We have to start being honest about just how poor our schools are at giving a quality education even when the classrooms aren't packed to the walls with free education teachers. Our education system is a disaster it pumps out tens of thousands of graduates that no overseas company with overseas standards would touch with a 3 metre pole to hire.
Why else do you think that more and more expats are being hired and brought into PNG? It's because our education stinks even when it's not free.

IS FREE EDUCATION POLICY SUSTAINABLE IN PNG?

Not without higher taxes. Where is the revenue coming from?

All comments are good.

The end result of policy will produce high quantity of school leavers with least quality. The the effect will be trickle down like, when there are high school leavers and less quality then production will be low.

Lets also talk about the infrastructure development and the teachers and lecturers who will be training the increasing number of kids due to the government's free education.

Below could be some of the immediate questions to ask:

1. Do we train sufficient staff in proportion to the number of students intake per year?

2. Do all schools infrastructures and teaching/learning facilities upgraded to the standards to meet the demand?

3. How sustainable is the government policy?

4. How long will the policy lasts? Should it be a year? or two? three? four? ect................

5. Other factors are involved as well????????????????



This free education policy needs to be rectified and the people of this country can know exactly the genuiness in managing the policy. It is not good for the government to provide quick pixes of policies to get the attention of the people.

Basic edcuation, health care are two of the basic development and government services that the people of this nation deserves to have in quality and affortable...every citizen in PNG needs to have affortable and quality health and education services. No government has to use it as political tool and as a result degrade the standard of the services that needed to be provided in these two major government services.

Thanks

The govern shouldn't waist money on kids with no potential at all.

It would be wise to provide some sort of free high standard education system for bright kids to reach their full potentials, for the future benefit of our country.

There are lots of very bright kids out there, Who end up as drugbodys due to school fee problems.

Yes, very much, think about all children who went to study overseas and never came back to fullfill their duty to serve PNG.

They served other countries who have not even paid any donations

Some were found to be serving the Lord at Kingscross, go figure that out.