Higher education and employment opportunities

currently serves Lau’oya, Duduna, Gameta, and Ulua wards, offering grades three through eight, although grades seven and eight have only recently become available. There are currently 189 registered students. See table 35 in Appendix E for attendance figures by grade and ward. Momo’awa Primary School serves Sebutuya and Momo’awa wards, and offers grades three through eight. It was founded in 1970 by the Catholic mission from Budoya, and at that time it was located in the mountains of Momo’awa. In 1972 it moved farther down towards Sebutuya, to its current location at Taigwana’oya. There are 119 registered students, and the headteacher estimated that this figure represents about half the children in the area who are eligible to attend. See table 36 in Appendix E for attendance figures by grade and ward. Between 1995 and 2002, eight new vernacular elementary schools opened in the survey area, as shown in table 28. Blank cells indicate that information was not available. Table 28. Elementary schools in the Galeya area School Name Location Opened Number of students EP E1 E2 Residence of students Basima Elementary Lau’oya, Bederi 1998 58 21 24 14 Lau’oya ward Duduna Elementary Budebude 1997 47 Duduna ward Gameta Elementary Caanan 1995 25 10 8 7 Gameta ward Momo’awa Elementary Momo’awa Mission 2000 35 12 10 13 Momo’awa ward O’oya Elementary O’oya 2002 35 Sebutuya ward Sebutuya Elementary Bederi 2000 18 Sebutuya ward Taigwana’oya Elementary Taigwana’oya 2000 28 13 8 9 Sebutuya ward Dobu 1 Ulua Elementary Yoridan 1995 36 5 17 14 Ulua ward. Amphlett islands 1 Bosilewa 1 Elementary school teachers in Momo’awa, Duduna, and Sebutuya commented that only half of the children of school age actually attend elementary school. However, the elementary teacher for O’oya reported that all school age children in the area near O’oya attend school. The elementary teachers in Gameta reported that since it is a two and a half hour walk to Basima Primary School, many children from the Gameta area do not go. Other reasons given for not attending school were school fees, the obligation to care for siblings, lack of adequate clothing, and the difficulty of getting to school during rainy season, when rivers in the area flood.

4.4 Higher education and employment opportunities

Beyond grade eight, students may go to secondary school or on to vocational training schools VTS. Most students who go on to secondary school attend either Wataluma High School grades nine to ten on Goodenough Island, or Wesley High School grades nine to ten at Salamo. Some students attend Hagita High School near Gurney, Holy Name Grammar School, Dogura near Rabaraba, and Cameron Secondary School in Alotau on the mainland. The nearest vocational training schools are Ilulua RC VTS on the south coast of Fergusson Island, Ubuya VTS on Normanby Island, Bolubolu VTS on Goodenough Island, and Kuyaro VTS on Samarai Island. Of the thirty-seven students who completed grade eight at Basima Primary School in 2003, approximately half eighteen went on to further education, seven to Wataluma High School, and eleven to vocational training schools. Of the eighteen students who completed grade eight in 2003 at Momo’awa Primary School, nine went on to Wataluma High School and one to vocational college. Six of the students who went to Wataluma have since returned due to difficulties with paying school fees. Both schools reported one student who had gone on to attend university, one at the Agricultural College in Rabaul, and the other at the University of PNG in Port Moresby. Most people who finish grades six or eight return to the village, although some find employment outside the village. With a grade six or eight education it is possible to get a job on the oil palm plantations on the mainland, but for a job in a store in Alotau, a grade ten or twelve education is usually required. In Lau’oya ward people reported that between ten and twenty grade six leavers from the ward were working on the oil palm plantations, and five to ten grade ten graduates were working in stores or health centres in Alotau. They also reported that one man had become a university lecturer and that another had become a teacher. All the elementary school teachers had completed grade ten.

4.5 Education summary