By GINNAH MINI
AMONGST the 395 students that graduated from the International Training Institute (ITI) on the 15th of May was 27 years old Joram Paul, who believes that learning never stops even if the education system fails majority of the students in Papua New Guinea.
Joram graduated with a Diploma in Human Resource Management (HRM)-dedicating his achievement to his parents for their unwavering support throughout his education journey.
Joram’s story is the one of perseverance and commitment from being out of the education system for more than three years to getting a diploma.
He hails from Southern Highlands Province and is the youngest among his eight siblings. Growing up in Ramu, Madang Province, where his father works at, Joram started his education journey there until 2017 when he decided to transfer to Kwikila Secondary School in Port Moresby. He is a pioneer of the then Ramu Valley High School.
After completing his grade ten, he didn’t get an offer to continue his grade 11, so he had to take a break and do part time jobs in the city.
In 2022 he decided to go back to the village and continue his education.
“From 2022-2023 I did my grade 11 and 12 at Ialibu Secondary (Southern Highlands Province),” Joram said.
“I got an offer at the University of Goroka, but due to school fee issues I did not pursue my studies at UOG.”
Joram said that while he was staying home for a year, he decided to apply to ITI after seeing their advertisements on Facebook.
“I got accepted into ITI in 2025 to pursue Diploma in Human Resource Management,” he said.
He extended his gratitude to Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL) and Peterson Pipi for sponsoring him for his school fees.
“I was inspired to pursue my diploma in ITI because of the standards that they are using to teach students,” Joram said.
During his studies, Joram faced challenges as a non-residential student, commuting daily to school. He
experienced transport delays and arriving to school and home late, which sometimes affected his studies. He noted that through those challenges, he learned discipline, time management and resilience.
Joram said that though he failed some of his subjects in school and faced financial difficulties, he did not give up. He said he wanted to be somebody in the future, so he persevered throughout.
“I was motivated to go back to school because I have dreams that I wanted to achieve,” he said.
He shared his excitement for his achievement and said that he is keen to go out into the real world.
“I look forward to finding a stable job and also furthering my studies for a bachelor’s degree in HRM,” Joram said.
“Some lessons I learned during my studies at ITI are the value of discipline, continuous learning, consistency, teamwork, and willingness to adapt to new challenges as I move into the real world.”
Joram said that he’ll bring those values with him in his professional career and improve himself as he goes out to the real world to look for jobs and make positive impacts.
Mr. Paul shared a message to students who have visions for their lives but have been failed by the education system but are thinking of going back to school.
“Through failure, you’ll learn many things and see things in different perspectives but don’t give up and stand on your
dreams and vision and work towards it to pursue it.”
Though facing some challenges and setbacks, Joram’s diploma represents focus and determination.