Content area
Full Text
Introduction
Currently in Papua New Guinea (PNG) there are three national languages: Hiri Motu1, Tok Pisin2 and English. English has been the official language of instruction in primary schools and also the lingua franca of the present day people of the Papuan region, especially in the Milne Bay Province where this research project was conducted. English was first introduced to PNG by the early missionaries and was later reinforced by the colonial government, especially through primary schooling. The extensive use of English at school has threatened the survival of indigenous languages and cultures.
In the late 1970s, the idea of initial vernacular education grew out of dissatisfaction with English education, and its alienating influence on children. Local indigenous people and expatriate educational officials in the North Solomon's Province worked together towards the opening of Tok Ples (vernacular) Preparatory Schools (TPPSs) for kindergarten level in 1980 with the intention of social, cultural and educational benefits (Delpit and Kemelfield, 1985).
Because of the recognition of local culture and language in the curriculum and the children's successful transition from local community to formal schooling in English, the idea of having a TPPS spread to other provinces. As increasing interest in and expansion of TPPS was becoming significant at the local level, initial vernacular education was officially recommended nationally in 1986. Although TPPSs remained as non-formal, community-based schools, some local departments of education organised a network of TPPSs, ensuring community support and informal teacher training. Some other provinces depended on the interest of each of their communities and NGOs. Through their joint efforts, many more TPPSs were established, and its benefits were widely recognised throughout PNG.
Finally in 1989 when initial vernacular education became the national policy, the national and many provincial departments of education, including the one in the Milne Bay Province, began to encourage the expansion of preparatory schooling. Then, in the early 1990s, restructuring of the formal education system began. The first three years of schooling would be in the local vernacular (i.e. preparatory, grade one and grade two levels). This would be followed by six years of primary schooling (i.e. from grade three to grade eight). However, the reform has not spread to all areas. In the areas where there is no three-year elementary school,...