The conflict
The Bougainville conflict engulfed the island between 1988 and 1998 with upwards of 10,000 people losing their lives and a third of the islands population, 60,000 people, living in bush camps for the internally displaced[1]. The conflict began as a landowners revolt against the Panguna copper mine, which was the Papua New Guinea (PNG) governments most prized economic asset, as the mine was causing untold environmental damage; employing a workforce that was less than 30% Bougainvillean; and only 5% of the profits were retained by the Bougainville government and its people[2][3]. Objections to the mine soon spiralled into a set of interweaving conflicts that including secessionists, anti-secessionists and localised ideological conflict.
During the ten-year conflict national infrastructure and essential health and education services were burnt to the ground. With schools closed and people living in makeshift camps, children and adolescents became actively engaged in the fighting. The conflict created a generation of young men and women known as the ‘crisis generation’: those who fought as children in the conflict, and those who were ‘too young’ to fight but grew up in the period of instability[4]. Deeply ingrained trauma manifests itself today through high levels of alcohol and drug abuse amongst young men, and an ensuing culture of violence[5].
The education sector
The 2011 census revealed the population of Bougainville to be 248,779 people. Bougainville has a young population structure with the median age being just 19.9 and 39.4% of the population being below the age of 15[6]. The system of education in PNG comprises of three years of elementary school (P-2) and six years of primary school (3-8), which completes the nine-year basic education cycle. Secondary school is broken into two years of lower secondary school (9-10) and two years of upper secondary school (11-12).
In 2012 the PNG government implemented the Tuition Fee Free Education (TFFE) policy which abolished schools fees in a strategy to improve enrolment and retention levels. Families do not pay schools fees, instead, the government provides a subsidy to the schools based on the number of enrolments. While this move has increased enrolment, especially at primary level, the subsidy does not allow for major facility upgrades and as a result many schools suffer from overcrowding and large class sizes, and don’t have adequate infrastructure, including teachers housing, classrooms and ablution facilities, to be able to effectively deal with the higher number of enrolments because of the TFFE [7]policy[8].
The challenge of education in Bougainville is even more pronounced. The Bougainville Plan for Education 2007-2016 has not been superseded by a newer version and much of the plan was rendered irrelevant as the structure of education, as previously outlined and shown in Figure 1, was only introduced in 2015 after a complete overhaul by the PNG government. With new pressure for young men and women of the crisis generation to obtain work in the modern sector, education is seen as the primary means to do so. The TFFE policy has opened the door for more lower and upper secondary school enrolments, however, the infrastructure and human resources are simply not there. In outlining their plan for universal basic education, the PNG Department of Education[9] boldly declared that ‘major initiatives during the Plan period include the construction of new classrooms, new staff houses, more elementary teachers will be trained and infrastructure will be upgraded’. Sadly, Bougainville is yet to realise the benefits. A functioning education sector is critical as Bougainville seeks independence and today’s youth become tomorrow’s leaders.
The realities of education in Bougainville
- Over 90% of Bougainvilleans live in rural areas10
- Only 4% of the rural population of PNG aged 15 and over have a tertiary qualification, compared to 16.6% of those who live in urban areas11
- There are only 7 lower secondary schools and 4 upper secondary schools in all of Bougainville
- Approximately 500 upper secondary school positions exist for an estimated age cohort of several thousands12
- Prior to the implementation of the TFFE policy, around one-third of Bougainvillean school aged children were not in school13
- Bougainvillean primary students fall below the national averages in student performance for numeracy, literacy and writing14
St Joseph’s College
The original St Joseph’s College was one of many institutions burnt to the ground in the Bougainville conflict. A new St Joseph’s College was opened in 1999 and is located in the remote village of Mabiri in Wakuani LLG (Local Level Government), Central Bougainville. It was initially conceived as a place to educate ex-combatants and other young men of the crisis generation to integrate them back into a functioning society. Today the school has expanded to offer coeducational opportunities for 636 young people and children across the following grades:
- Kindergarten – 35 male and female students
- Elementary School – 99 male and female students
- Primary School – 171 male and female students
- Lower Secondary School – 250 male boarding students
- Vocational Training – 81 male boarding students (two year course)[10][11][12][13][14]
St Joseph’s College has been identified by the Bougainville Division of Education as the site for a key expansion into upper secondary school. Currently one of only three lower secondary schools in Central Bougainville, the approved expansion will provide the district with its second upper secondary school with the other located several hours away in the town of Arawa. This expansion necessitates an overhaul of St Joseph’s current facilities and the construction of new infrastructure to effectively manage the planned increased number of students.
References
[1] Woodbury, J 2015, The Bougainville independence referendum: Assessing the risks and challenges before, during and after the referendum, Australian Defence College Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, retrieved 25 August 2017, <http://www.defence.gov.au/ADC>
[2] Ibid
[3] Phillips, K 2015, Bougainville at a crossroads: independence and the mind, ABC Radio National, retrieved 25 August 2017, <http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/ >
[4] Kent, S & Barnett, J 2012, ‘Localising peace: The young men of Bougainville’s ‘Crisis generation’’, Political Geography, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 34-43, doi: 10.1016/j.polgeo.2011.09.003
[5] Ibid
[6] National Statistical Office 2015, National Population and Housing Census 2011: Papua New Guinea 2011 National Report, Government of Papua New Guinea, retrieved 24 August 2017, <http://sdd.spc.int>
[7] Division of Education 2007, Bougainville Plan for Education 2007-2016, Autonomous Bougainville Government, retrieved 24 August 2017, <http://arob.education.gov.pg>
[8] Paraide, P 2015, ‘Challenges with the tuition fee free education policy implementation in Papua New Guinea’, Contemporary PNG Studies: DWU Research Journal, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 47-62, retrieved 24 August 2017, <http://www.dwu.ac.pg>
[9] Department of Education 2009, Achieving Universal Education for a Better Future: Universal Basic Education Plan 2010-2019, retrieved 29 August 2017, <http://www.education.gov.pg>
[10] Kent, S & Barnett, J 2012
[11] National Statistical Office 2015
[12] Kent, S & Barnett, J 2012
[13] Department of Education 2009
[14] Ibid