While PNG's literacy rate has increased in the last two decades, this has only been at a marginal rate - and students dropping out of school are either semi-literate or illiterate

 

The report was written by Dr Kilala Devette-Chee, who is a senior research fellow and leader of the education research program at the institute.

 

Although the government has taken several measures to improve literacy in the country, illiteracy among school leavers is on the rise.

 

"This is a result of, among many factors, the outcomes-based education which promoted the use of vernacular languages in elementary schools with a transition period to English in Grade 3. This bilingual program is an excellent concept and has worked well in other countries. However, it failed a lot of Papua New Guinean students due to improper implementation of the program," is one of Devette-Chee's conclusions.

 

The five-page document may be found at this address: https://bit.ly/3qw11Sm