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Papua New Guinea

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The largest of the Pacific Island countries, Papua New Guinea has a population of over 10 million (World Bank, 2022) but is still considered a small state of the Commonwealth.

COL’s current work in Papua New Guinea is in the areas of skills for work, gender equality and women’s empowerment through skills development, technology-enabled learning and tertiary education. It is also part of the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) network and benefits from programmes offered by COL’s regional centre, the Pacific Centre for Flexible and Open Learning for Development. Learners from Papua New Guinea are also participating in COL’s free online courses and benefitting from other openly available resources.

Highlights

  • More than 330 teachers from Papua New Guinea trained to provide effective learner support in open and distance learning (ODL) contexts.
  • Over 390 youths have been trained in practical skills leading to employability.
  • Development of online learning resources for teachers: ODL Course Catalogue, National OER Collection Site, and Online TVET Toolkit.
  • Building the capacity of TVET practitioners through national coordinators.
  • Policy on Vocational Education & Training Flexible Open Learning developed by the Department of Education.

Partners

Partnerships are fundamental to COL’s work. Strategic partnerships allow COL to broaden its reach and engage at global, regional and national levels, while implementation partners support COL’s work in communities and institutions across Commonwealth Member States. Partners include multilateral organisations, regional bodies, national governments, government agencies, foundations, civil society organisations, public and private (not-for-profit) institutions and the private sector. COL partnerships assist in improving and extending teaching and learning services to people in the developing Commonwealth.

COL partners in Papua New Guinea include:

  • Department of Education, Flexible, Open and Distance Learning (FODE)
  • AWEST Pacific Community Leadership Training Institute
  • Bougainville Youth in Agriculture
  • Servants of St. Joseph
  • University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG)

Key Contacts

Focal Point

Mr Anthony Rayappan
Principal
Flexible, Open and Distance Learning (FODE)
Department of Education

Notable Mention

The Honourable Dr Dame Carol Kidu
COL Honorary Fellow and former member of COL Board of Governors

More Information

News

Reports

Publications and Resources

Country Data Sources