Save the Children PNG is proud to co-host the National Elementary Education Forum today to showcase its successful Rapidly Increasing Standards of Education (RISE) program to the sector.
The forum will focus on the research and learnings from three education programs supported by the Australian Government through the Papua New Guinea–Australia Partnership: RISE, Together for Education and Pikinini Kisim Save.
RISE aims to improve the quality of early education in PNG, which is below national standards, by providing 1800 elementary teachers and 750 early childhood facilitators with teaching support to improve learning outcomes at 650 schools. RISE also supports children with disabilities to access mainstream education.
RISE stakeholders including provincial education authorities and elementary teachers as well as RISE teacher trainers and community education officers from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Eastern Highlands and East Sepik will take part in the forum in Port Moresby.
One of these is volunteer teacher Richard Viura Antado. Mr Antado, who is visually impaired, has been volunteering as a teacher since 2013 when he reopened a run-down elementary school in the Eastern Highlands province. This school has been a part of the RISE program since 2018.
Mr Antado said that since completing the RISE teacher training program, he is more confident with preparing programs and lesson planning.
“Before the RISE training, I was not sure of how to best deliver my lessons. Now that I am trained, I am more confident and am always looking forward to teaching my lessons. The children are also benefitting and are more excited coming to school nowadays,” Mr Antado said.
“Thanks to RISE I have been able to achieve my goal of providing quality, inclusive elementary education.
“I am looking forward to attending the forum to further my understanding of and commitment to high quality, accessible elementary education.”
RISE is supported by the Australian Government in partnership with the Government of PNG. The RISE consortium is led by Save the Children in partnership with Callan Services for Persons with Disabilities and Summer Institute of Linguistics.
For interviews, call Jess Brennan on 0421 334 918.