BY GINNAH MINI
The Department of Education has launched “The Together Program”, which is an initiative supporting the successful rollout of 1-6-6 school restructuring reform and Standard Based Curriculum under the National Education Plan 2020-2029.
This program was launched through partnerships with Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and UNICEF PNG.
The program targets 317,000 students aged six to eight years to receive grade one and two mathematics textbooks, over 7000 teachers to access digital training contents, 500 elementary teachers to assess the upgrading courses to teach at primary and 550 Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers trained on the new ECE curriculum.
Hadi Khan, PNG Country Program Officer for GPE, highlighted the significance for this program, saying it was a commitment to multiply possibilities for every child through quality education.
“This program is grounded to strengthen the foundation of learning, improved teaching qualities, and ensure that every boy and girl has access to inclusive, equitable, and high quality education,” he said.
The program will be implemented in nine provinces: Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Central Province, Jiwaka, East Sepik, Enga, Hela, Manus, Southern Highlands and Western Highlands.
Vikas Singh, Acting Representative for UNICEF PNG, said the program launch reflected the strong leadership and determination to move from policy to implementation.
“The Together Program addresses the root drivers of education quality and access in the country, it strengthens the teaching workforce, it improves curriculum implementation, and it reinforces gender responsive planning, data use and accountability.”
UNICEF will support the government in program oversight and fiduciary management to ensure alignment across partners to translate financing to measurable improvements in the classrooms.