Twenty-one Western province schools to benefit from eLearning project
Kwiroknae Primary School students in the eLearning Lab trying out the new tablets.
Seven thousand eight hundred (7800) students in twenty-one schools will be using tablets to access eBooks and learning resources through an eLearning project, which is being sponsored by PNG Sustainable Development Program Limited (SDP) in partnership with Save the Children PNG.
The third phase of the project was launched last week at Kwiroknae Primary School in North Fly, Western province. The project will be leveraging technology to support teachers and inspectors; improve their access to high quality teaching and learning resources and increase the access of the schools in the remote areas of Western province. The basic idea is to improve student literacy and numeracy.
The project will provide primary schools with tablets loaded with Offline Apps containing graded digital reading libraries with hundreds of books from the National Department of Education (NDoE) and globally available open-source books.
Each school will be supported by a Learning Lab room where teachers will be provided with tablets, projectors and speakers powered by solar energy. This will enhance classroom teaching. We have learned from the phase 1 and phase 2 efforts so that phase 3 will operate with a significantly refined strategy. Save the Children’s social enterprise Inclusive Education is supporting the project with education technology solutions.
SDP Corporate Affairs Manager, Juddy Aoae said this project is aimed at delivering a big turnaround in teacher and student performance.
“Students in Western Province are capable. Unfortunately, a lack of resources and exposure to knowledge and information over many years, has meant our students have not been able to perform to their full potential. Teachers have also struggled to deliver with minimal resources.”
She said SDP’s education m1t1at1ves are delivered through partnerships in consultation with the Provincial Department of Education. “We complement and supplement existing services that fill the gaps to ensure that these students get the best possible education. Our approach also supports the teachers, so they develop new skills along with providing the resources to deliver lessons effectively.”
“I urge the parents, citizens, students and the teachers in the schools and the communities to fully commit to taking care of these valuable eLearning materials provided through this wonderful opportunity. “
In line with the Western Province Education Strategy, this project is expected to improve students’ access to quality teaching and learning materials through online and offline eLearning resources, provide professional development for teachers, including English and Math teaching strategies aligned
Papua New Guinea
to the Standards-Based Curriculum (SBC). We will also improve the capacity of school inspectors to support teachers in the province.
Save the Children’s Pacific Regional Director, Gerry Dyer, said that an important aspect of Save the Children’s work in education is ensuring that children show improvement in their learning outcomes. This comes with having a strong education system (skilled teachers, access to quality teaching and learning materials), and good practices such as reading every day.
“Being able to implement the elearning project in Western province means, we’re building an enabling environment for children to learn.”
Western Province Administrator, Robert Kaiyun, thanked SDP and Save the Children for this partnership. He emphasized that this would mean a lot to the students enrolled in the 21 primary schools participating in the phase 3 trial.
The idea is to roll the project out to other schools after the proof-of-concept trial has become a demonstrated success.
“The New Way Forward in education calls for a wider stakeholder approach to tackling these ongoing problems. The elearning Project will add value to implementing the four priorities areas for the education sector in terms of (i) Quality Education, (ii) Accessibility, (iii) Systems Strengthening, and (iv) Integration. The project will give opportunities for the children to improve their learning abilities and perform better to achieve better academic results,” said Mr. Kaiyun.
About SDP
SDP is focused on providing lasting benefits for the people of PNG with the current emphasis on Western Province, where we coordinate our programs and activities with the Provincial 5-year Development Plan. We are delivering development programs in the areas of health, education, creating jobs and enabling infrastructure.
About Save the Children
Save the Children has been in PNG since 1978. Our 2030 ambition is for that all children in PNG survive, learn and are protected. We are working in partnership with the national, provincial and local authorities with aligned goals, to deliver programs in Health, Education, Protection and in the Humanitarian space. Save the Children work in 12 provinces – Oro, Gulf, Milne Bay, West New Britain, East Sepik, West Sepik, Eastern Highlands, Western, Morobe, Central, Jiwaka and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
For more information, contact:
Rachel Tarson
Communication & Campaign Advisor – Save the Children PNG M: 7290 5070/7030 7968, WhatsApp: 7611 5878
E: Rachel.Tarsan@savethechildren.org.au
Or
Esther Sibona
Director of Communications – PNG Sustainable Development Program Limited M: 7176 6991
E: esibona@pngsdp.org