Grade 12 selection system questioned

Grade 12 students from rural areas are deprived of a fair shot into tertiary institutions by the new selection system, leaving teachers deeply concerned.

Two school administrators from West Sepik's St. Ignatius Secondary School were very critical of the Grade12 Selection Process.

School Principal Ronald Raintangen and Founder Frank Evans described the new system as an inconvenience for participating students in rural areas.

"The procedure demands that each student have a mobile phone. And not the K25 variety, Wowi, on offer from a Digicel stand on almost every roadside or street corner. The system demands a smartphone, where the cost runs into hundreds of kinas for even the most basic model, "Evans said.

He also included internet access as another barrier for the new system.

"The system demands easy or ready access to the internet. This may not be a problem for students in urban areas, but PNG has Grade 12 schools in the most remote areas of Western Province, West Sepik Province, East Sepik and Madang Provinces to name just a few. And in many of these areas, there is no road access to the nearest reliable Internet source, " he stressed.
  
Sharing similar sentiments, Principal Raintangen added that the system's implementation is complicated and "comprehensible to only a small proportion of teachers" who are then responsible for passing on the knowledge to students.               

Raintangen and Evans also raised questions on the changes made to entry prerequisites that is giving a rise to a "breed of nerds" with lack of interpersonal skills, and the unfair administration of stat-p tests across tertiary institutions.

According to Raintangen, the National Online Application System [NOAS] will affect 40-50 students at St. Ignatius Secondary School.