Challenges of implementing a free education policy have been many. Political will and funding are among the top issues, including education department’s capacity to monitor and evaluate the policy. From 2012 to 2016, the government’s commitment to implementation of Tuition Fee-Free Education (TFFE) policy has been better than the other attempts in 1981, 1993 and 2002. In addition, funding commitment was consistent and the amount committed to implementing the TFFE policy set the bench-mark for any future governments wanting to implement the free education policy.
On the contrary, there were many challenges faced between 2012 and 2016. TFFE policy framework lacked
detail from the beginning, though there were guides like the TFFE Manual 2012
to show attempts have been made to establish some control mechanisms. In fact, details of monitoring and evaluating was lacking and therefore a major obstacle to the success the policy both in the past and present.
For example the School Learning and Improvement Plans (SLIP) which is
the key for knowing what has actually transpired on the ground (in schools), as
far as accounting for TFFE spending was concerned, remained obscure. By this I mean, the school inspectors (call
them standard officers) and district administrators (DA) played an important role
to not only maintain standard, but also improve standard.
The inspectors and DAs are a link between schools and department of education and this link is vital for monitoring school operations and providing accurate reports required by the Tuition Fee-Free Secretariat of the National Department of Education. And therefore, the standard officers and DAs not monitoring SLIP (school population, development plans, head teachers’ spending, etc.…) have a negative impact on the. overall monitoring and reporting of TFFE policy. Their roles are pivotal to whether the government gets an accurate report or not.
The inspectors and DAs are a link between schools and department of education and this link is vital for monitoring school operations and providing accurate reports required by the Tuition Fee-Free Secretariat of the National Department of Education. And therefore, the standard officers and DAs not monitoring SLIP (school population, development plans, head teachers’ spending, etc.…) have a negative impact on the. overall monitoring and reporting of TFFE policy. Their roles are pivotal to whether the government gets an accurate report or not.
One could argue that the SLIP does not correlate to TFFE policy and its
implementation, and the school inspectors and DAs have little to do with the
school yearly plans. This is not true. The school yearly plan (SLIP) tells you
all you need to know before releasing the government’s fund to a school; monitoring
it on a regular basis; and reporting it as and when required. In brief, strictly
monitoring SLIP gives you the ability to meet the challenges and limitations of
implementing the TFFE policy.
Is it too late to talk about the TFFE policy? Well, the question of continuation
of the policy is sketchy as are the election results post 2017 elections – no one
knows what happens until it happens. So, we never know. But what we know is
that the current government TFFE policy continued for the last five years – no government
is the past has done that. It is an achievement. Nevertheless, there are many
challenges.
Perhaps it is important to know that who (or which party) forms the government
after 2017 election is NOT important. What is important is that EDUCATION, must, remain number one. The new government has to plan to ensure key stakeholders like the school inspectors and DAs perform their roles effectively. Also the new government must identify the KEY INDICATORS needed addressing within the education system, and address them properly
from the beginning.
I have written extensively about the Tuition Fee-Free policy since its inception
in successive years. The screen shots are the Abstract and Content pages of an academic paper I wrote for a post graduate study. The paper reviews
three governments efforts in the past, compares it to the current government attempts and
discusses 4 recommendations needed going forward.
Declaimer: All attempts have been made to ascertain the factuality of information presented in this academic paper. Please, let the writer know if there is anything you wish to point out in the comment section. You can use the Contact Form or Twitter (Follow @PNG_Insight).
An updated version of this paper now available. You can download the Tuition Fee Free Education Policy in PNG PDF. Email me on info@pnginsight.com
