Papua New Guinea

Reading Time: < 1 min

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, GIRLS Inspire, technology-enabled learning and tertiary education through the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) network. Learners from Papua New Guinea are also participating in COL’s free, open online courses and benefitting from other available resources.

Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, 15-64 years old¹
n/a		n/a
Female		Male

Completion rate, lower secondary education for the school year ending in 2020¹
33.7%		26.7%
Female		Male

Gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education¹
n/a		n/a
Female		Male

Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications in secondary education¹
100%		100%
Female (2012)		Male (2012)

1. UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, retrieved in May 2023

Highlights

137 teachers from Papua New Guinea trained to provide effective learner support in ODFL contexts.
Active TVET Project with the National Department of Education, Papua New Guinea
Skills and leadership training for youths in partnership with Bougainville Youth in Agriculture
148 certificates have been issued to learners from Papua New Guinea under the Skills Online programme.
Development of online learning resources for teachers: ODL Course Catalogue, National OER Collection Site, and Online TVET Toolkit
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)
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

Ms Leah Margis
Executive Manager, Innovation and Digital Education
Department of Higher Education, Research Science & Technology

Notable Mention

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

Literacy rate (2012)¹
60.3%		65.5%
Adult (15+) literacy rate Female		Adult (15+) literacy rate Male

Economic Activity (2010)¹
71%		73%
Adult (15+) economic activity Female		Adult (15+) economic activity Male

Political Decision Making (2014)¹
3%
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

Life expectancy (2012)¹
65		60
Female		Male

1. COL gender country profile April 2015

32	48
Individuals using the internet (%)¹	Mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹

0.21	11
Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹	Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹




1. International Telecommunication Union (ITU), retrieved in May 2023.

Papua New Guinea

Highlights

Partners

Key Contacts

Focal Point

Notable Mention

More Information

News

Reports

Publications and Resources

Country Data Sources