PNG's K130m UOG project unveiled as Marape places education at core of nation's next chapter

 PNG's K130m UOG project unveiled as Marape places education at core of nation's next chapter/Government Photo

Papua New Guinea's leader, Prime Minister James Marape, has doubled down on quality education as the foundation for the country's decades ahead, cutting the ribbon on the University of Goroka's newly finished K130 million Central Administration Building and Humilaveka Student Forum Square earlier this week.

Speaking to staff, students and invited guests on campus, Marape maintained that expensive new construction carries little value unless it delivers sharper teaching, well-managed schools and better results for children nationwide as PNG advances further into its second fifty years of independence.

He called the freshly completed buildings among the finest examples of educational infrastructure anywhere in the country, taking the opportunity to acknowledge everyone involved in bringing the project to life — past and present university leadership, contractors, customary landowners, government bodies and the taxpayers who footed the bill.

A large portion of Marape's remarks focused on UOG's distinct role in moulding PNG's teaching workforce, noting that its graduates would one day educate the generations to come. He instructed Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology Minister Kinoka Feo to develop a strategy for raising teacher-training benchmarks to match international standards, arguing that strong outcomes for students can only follow strong preparation for teachers. He also pushed for teacher salaries to be aligned with qualifications and professional standing, together with better housing, classrooms and sanitation infrastructure across schools countrywide.

The Prime Minister went further, insisting PNG's education system needs to accommodate a broad spectrum of student ability — spanning sport, the arts, music and science — rather than funnelling every learner into the same academic track. He also urged wider adoption of Flexible Open and Distance Education, giving early school leavers a chance to resume their studies, and referenced examples from his own Tari-Pori electorate where young people returned to the classroom before moving on to university and employment.

To reinforce his point, Marape recounted his own upbringing, describing how he began school in 1978, covered long distances on foot as a child, and was later placed in boarding school by his father, who told him: "Never leave the education path. Education is your highway into your life." He credited that advice with carrying him all the way to becoming PNG's eighth Prime Minister and argued that rural children today possess no less potential, provided they receive proper educational backing.

During the same visit, Higher Education Minister Kinoka Feo laid out proposals for a large new student dormitory at UOG, which Marape backed without delay. With the nation's 51st Independence Anniversary approaching on September 16, the Prime Minister urged the country to view the next ten years as a critical opportunity to reshape education outcomes.

"Teachers must be the highest-paid people in our country. Pay them on par with their qualifications," he said.

"The next 10 years is critical," he said. "And it starts with quality education here at the University of Goroka."