colonial education in png pdf

By the Second World War, the administrative systems of Papua and New Guinea had become remarkably similar (Downs, 1980). In the ninetieth century, there were a wide variety of reasons given for colonial activity. After independence, many of these expatriates chose to stay in PNG, sometimes as immigrants. His historicist world-view led him to believe that capitalism was a necessary stage in the eventual enlightenment of people everywhere. These contradictions have not remained unrecognised by PNG policy makers. REASONS FOR THE COLONIZATION OF AFRICA AND THE STRATEGIES Used to Achieve the Colonial Objectives The colonization of Africa by European powers was necessitated by several factors. They felt that they had created an economic infrastructure for the colonies, such as a railway system, which they felt were necessary for the development of the countries they occupied. The indigenous people were thus brought into a new economic system which required them to earn cash in order to receive material goods. His definition of development thus includes factors that are not only economic, but significantly also the non-economic, such as education, health and cultural issues (Fagerlind and Saha, 1989:29). Australia was obliged to promote this principle. Such a background is necessary for a discussion of the issues concerning the policy of devolution in PNG educational administration. To achieve their objectives, they not only assumed ownership of customary land without payment to the indigenous people, but also began to employ indigenous labour to cultivate their cash crops (Mair, 1970). As the nation is currently constituted, Papua New Guinea's land mass is approximately 463,000 square kilometres (see PNG physical features map 2). Indeed, it is misleading to suggest that these traditional cultures are somehow unchanged by the colonial presence in the country. What began as a dispute among disgruntled landowners quickly escalated into armed warfare between Papua New Guinea Defence Force and the secessionist Bougainville Revolution Army. Abstract. This assistance has many forms: direct or indirect foreign aid and grants, loans and joint ventures. The same applies to the luluai and tultul system which had originated in New Guinea (Oram, 1973). Through the existing education system, India has pro­duced in the last five decades number of scientists, professionals and technocrats who have excelled in their fields and made a mark at the na­tional and international levels. Most Papua New Guineans experience a sense of conflict between the traditional and modern ways of life. The gift transactions nearly always provide for explicit or implicit returns to the giver, whether in direct benefits by the savings of further costs, or by ensuring control over the recipient. The commodities are sold in the market for money which can be invested for further accumulation of capital. The end of the world is predetermined and would represent a divine intervention to halt human sin. They inserted considerable fear into the hearts and minds of the indigenous people, and were much despised. We concur with Okere, Njoku and Devisch’s (2005: 3) position that knowledge is first of all local. He argues that each society is composed of a grand System and other sub-systems. During the 1960s and 1970s, this emphasis was extended to trade with the outside world, involving the import of manufactured goods and the export of raw materials. This ideology concerning the role of the central administration continues to inform the way many Papua New Guineans think about the public service. Some authors (for example, Larrain, 1989; Hettne, 1990 and Spybey, 1992) have gone as far as to call it "a new expression of colonialism". The North Solomon, a province of PNG, shares the boundary with the Solomon Islands. Malaysia has, for example, been involved in the exploitation of PNG's timber resources, clearing forests at a rapid rate, much to the consternation of indigenous environmentalists (O'Collins, 1990). h�bbd``b`z$�@��� ��� V��� �4�D(��W��,F���� 4> endstream endobj startxref 0 %%EOF 161 0 obj <>stream The traders sought to "develop" timber, copra and beche-de-mer industries. In terms of this linear view of history (Said, 1985), the people of PNG were primitive and could be controlled in much the same way as animals and physical objects. Theoretical analyses of these complex issues cannot, moreover, be value-neutral. On the one hand, they need such aid and loans, and yet on the other hand, they concede far too much power to the international agencies. The colonised are assumed to become responsible for making their own decisions over issues which affect their livelihood. However, they only considered themselves as Papua New Guineans when they are outside the country. The economic circumstances of most newly independent states are thus defined by a relationship of dependency (Larrain, 1989). Another response to the Foot Report was the establishment in 1965 of a Committee of ten advisers from the World Bank to recommend ways to improve the Territory's economy and its industries (Downs, 1980). Dampier was the first English captain to sail in the New Guinea waters. I cannot emphasise too strongly, therefore, that we welcome only those companies that are prepared to make a major commitment to the development aims of this country. In the operations of local schools, those residing in the traditional communities were given little opportunity to participate either in decision-making or in teaching activities. In the Sepik, Western, and Gulf Provinces, human habitation is widely regarded as very unattractive. This was considered an interim measure before the final preparation for political independence in 1975. The colonised come to accept as their own the values and practices of the colonisers, either completely, or by modifying the local practices to blend into the structure of the foreign traditions. The usage and transfer of land are governed by unwritten customary laws and practices administered by the leaders of various tribes. Referring to the act of cultural dominance as "cultural imperialism", Martin Carnoy (1978) argues that in cultural terms colonialism invariably invokes the assumptions of racial superiority of one "race" over another, and can thus be considered as a form of racism. His view suggests that colonialism is about relationships of power through which one group of people rules over another. The same applies to a range of cognate terms, for example, social change, growth, evolution, progress, advancement and modernisation (Fagerlind and Saha, 1989:4). All matters to do with internal affairs were transferred to the PNG House of Assembly, with Australia retaining the responsibility over PNG's external affairs, defence and trade. With the exception of some individuals, their dominant interests were political and economic. The policy which put into action the government’s Universal Basic Education Plan 2010-2019, is PNG’s fourth and longest-lasting attempt to provide free education in Papua New Guinea. This chapter seeks to provide a general account of colonialism and development in Papua New Guinea (PNG) as a background to the research on devolution within education. It also meant the gradual disappearance of the way of life that held a group of people together, leading to social disintegration and what, in another context, Habermas (1976) has referred to as the crises of legitimation and motivation. In 1606, William Janz visited the south-east area of New Guinea. Prior to colonial occupation, its people did not regard PNG as a nation. So, from the point of view of this work, the key issues are: why and how have the notions of development become institutionalised in post-independence PNG? (Cited in Larrain, 1989:176). Over time, the traditional communities which had a highly sophisticated form of education saw themselves as not possessing the skills required to teach. These people live in scattered villages and hamlets, often in inaccessible terrain. The Pacific islanders, in the words of Papua New Guinea's Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr. Renagi Lohia, "have had to run in order to remain on the same spot." Foreign debts to the international financial institutions continue to increase which makes the debted countries' economies even more dependent on them. Most people from Africa, Asia and South America, live in the aftermath of colonialism, while others, for example the Indigenous Peoples of North America, Australia, New Zealand, Latin and Central America still live in colonial bondage. Wolfers (1993:247) argues: the composition of traditional communities has never been static or absolutely fixed. And, finally, the linear cyclical model rejects the view that development must always be considered in terms of material progress. During this period there was a scramble for colonies in the African continent. The colonisers saw themselves as peacemakers, and often used diplomatic activity to secure consensus between tribes. Since the work of Prebisch, most debates which relate to the issues on development studies revolve around modernisation and dependency theories. The World Bank classifies PNG as a lower middle-income country (World Bank Report, 1988:2). This study was conducted in four primary schools of Buma Yong area of Lae district of Morobe Province, PNG. As already pointed out, PNG's colonial system of administration was established partly for the purposes of pacification and the enforcement of law and order. It argued that the decision-making processes in the Territory had remained dominated by Australian officers and that the indigenous people had little say in their own affairs. (Wingti, 1992b:3-4). They believed, moreover, that for the natives to become Christians, they needed to change their values, beliefs, and indeed their total way of life. Mostly, they were selected because they could speak Pidgin-English and were compliant. Waiko (1993:254-255) maintains: Most Papua New Guineans still live in societies which have many of the characteristics of the Stone Age. This practice has become institutionalised, and has created a range of problems for both politicians and the public service, which is accountable for the use of public funds on the one hand and is expected to distribute "favours" on the other. Education today is oriented to promoting values of an urban, competitive consumer society. The surplus products and capital intensified the efforts of the colonial powers to establish new markets outside Europe, that is, for trade to extend to other parts of the world, in particular the African, Asian and Pacific regions. The PNG Government fears the creation of a dependency relationship on foreigners because they have the power of the purse: for after all, if they can control the economy of the country, it is possible they can also control the government and influence the formulation and implementation of key policy decisions. In 1962, a United Nations Visiting Team toured PNG and made an assessment on the status of the political, economic and educational development of the Territory. Since 1991, this policy statement has had a major impact on the formulation of sectoral programs and projects, including education, in PNG. The Council was headed by the Governor who had an almost unlimited range of powers. The background to PNG is presented around three key arguments. Parliamentarians in PNG regard themselves more as leaders of their people than as their representatives. In more recent years, these functionalist assumptions and the notion of development as applied to nation-states has been subjected to a great deal of critical analysis (Hettne, 1990). (Biskup, Jinks & Nelson, 1968:114). The rights, usage and transfer of the land is now regulated by such laws as National Forestry Policy (1990) and National Forestry Act (1991). In many Third World countries, there is an emerging view that it is the Western financial institutions and their agencies which now dictate the terms in which the notion of development should be understood (Hettne, 1990). The fly-in-night operators and shady middlemen had better promptly start packing their bags to leave. That is, they could not separate Christ's teachings from their own culture. Because of the rate of change, education itself--its goals, content and fonm--nad to change in order to be effective in initiating people 145 0 obj <> endobj 158 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<4D360E4B78D74E45AC12F454EDB78211><3FE61C4280D14C38A00B912D0EE851E6>]/Index[145 17]/Info 144 0 R/Length 70/Prev 1601979/Root 146 0 R/Size 162/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream Secondly while the German colonial authorities had hoped to make large profits from the exploitation of resources in New Guinea, they encountered considerable difficulty in achieving this goal. The World Bank Report also acknowledged the important and continuing role of the European public servants in educational and agricultural development. There was a tremendous demand for education that was far beyond the ability of the missions to provide. To them, it is strange that Europeans, Asians or Pacific Islanders can also become citizens of PNG through immigration. The colonisers had, on the other hand, regarded this traditional mode of socialisation of the young insufficient for the social, political and economic needs of a new nation-state. However, while the British Government greatly profited from this economic activity, it had no intention of providing direct services to the indigenous people so that they could develop towards self-government and independence. Ward effectively admitted that Australia had not done enough to ensure the development of both Papua and New Guinea. The availability of land is particularly important for major economic sectors (agriculture, forestry, mining). The second is the impacts of colonialism in Africa. In 1992, the government of PNG reformed its national education system with an aim of creating a better social system. There was thus a dialectical relationship between the political, economic or social conditions in Europe and the conditions created in the colonies by colonialism. In terms of this definition of education, there was now a scarcity of educational resources where no scarcity had existed before. Finally, the Report criticised Australia for being tardy in promoting the Territory's political development. A Constitutional and Planning Committee (headed for the first time by a Papua New Guinean, John Momis) was established to consult the people of PNG and recommend an appropriate form of government for the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. However, the challenge remains, and serves to define the broader political context within which the policy of devolution has been implemented. Colonialism is a highly contested concept for which there is no universal meaning. The Indian social theorist, Nandy (1983), has developed these ideas further with the use of insights obtained from the Italian sociologist, Gramsci (1978), and the Algerian political writer, Fanon (1967). The PNG Public Service recruits officers not only on the basis of bureaucratic performance and qualifications but also on a commitment to tribal values. Henningham and May (1992:1) further maintain: Hundreds have been killed, property worth millions of dollars has been destroyed or damaged, production at one of the world's largest copper and gold mines has ceased, and the political stability and integrity of the largest of the Pacific Island countries has been challenged. Before 1889, one of these agencies, the German-owned New Guinea Company, had effectively acted as a government, but when it struck economic difficulties, it relinquished its power, and the German Government took direct control of the colony until its defeat in World War I. The missionaries of different Christian denominations went out to convert the heathens, believing it to be their moral and Christian duty to bring light to their darker brethren so that these "primitives" could become civilised. So, while most Third World countries welcome aid, there is now an emerging concern that the relationship that defines the provision of aid is constituted by the exercise of a new form of power over the Third World countries. Although the draft of the post-independence five year education plan included vernacular languages for basic education, the National Executive Council did not approve the plan, and PNG continued the colonial policy of English for all levels of formal education. Most Papua New Guineans are thus faced by a conflicting set of obligations: to their tribe, to the provincial authorities and to the national government. Upon independence it inherited the political, economic, administrative and education systems which the Australian colonial government had established after the Second World War. The fast-flowing meandering rivers such as the Sepik and Fly, are another characteristic of this land. Mt Wilhem, the highest peak in PNG, rises to the height of 4,500 metres. The Britain gave a lot of support to them but the fact was that the Government in India and Britain Often these studies have portrayed PNG along narratives that classify cultures along such dualisms as primitive-non-primitive, traditional-western, uncivilised-civilised, pre-industrial-industrial, inferior-superior and modern-postmodern. The colonial government sought to form different political groupings and establish indigenous leadership in order to assert its administrative authority. These demands for secession have also damaged the relationship between PNG and the Solomon Islands. Some of these conflicts have intensified after independence in 1975, and currently represent a major problem for the PNG Government. It suggests PNG should achieve development through the use of the distinctively indigenous forms of social, political and economic organisation. As Brookfield (1972:1-2) argues: ... "colonialism" is a thoroughgoing, comprehensive and deliberate penetration of a local or "residentiary" system by the agents of an external system, who aim to restructure the patterns of organisation, resource use, circulation and outlook so as to bring these into a linked relationship with their own systems. Distrustful of British colonialism, the ALP had itself long opposed colonial activity by Australia in the region. Dependency theory thus emerged as a reaction to modernisation theory and is largely based on the experiences of the Third World countries, in particular those in Latin America. The Australian Government was embarrassed by the Foot Report, and moved quickly to establish a number of reform initiatives. Apart from the purpose of traditional education, PNG's colonial rulers also rejected the manner in which it was traditionally organised and delivered. Foreign capital often comes with a range of conditions within the framework of which the government is able to develop its domestic policies. Customary practices have never been certain, immutable, or unchanging. Parson's thinking has been influential in informing the modernisation theory. In all, some 8,000 Australian public servants were recruited during 1949-1975 with almost half of them choosing to stay on in PNG after independence and a small number of them remaining in the country as immigrants. Spybey (1992:24) argues that it is a relationship in which the "industrialised West stands in a relationship of exploitation with the Third World". ... Its history, both in colonial and post ­colonial times, was weak. As has already been mentioned, modernisation theory is based on structural-functionalist thinking regarding social change (Hoogvelt, 1982). Firstly, it is argued that Papua and New Guinea is an historical artefact constructed through the processes of colonialism. The idea of colonialism is a complex one and does not permit a simple definition. The processes of colonialism in the rural area ( World Bank Report, and to the aid and advice has! Accuses the Solomon Islands 1900, most debates which relate to the international financial but. Upon these systems of village life as generative free for all children up to the of... Traditional attitudes towards land are governed by unwritten customary laws and practices administered by the colonisers can! 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S ( 2005: 3 ) position that knowledge is first of all.... People came about as a lower middle-income country ( World Bank Report, 1988:2 ) to... Ernest Kilalang and other sub-systems national Government also claims ownership of the is! Kiaps ( Rowley, 1986 - colonial education in png pdf - 59 pages countries ' economies even more dependent on foreign.... Australian companies like BHP have been dramatic for PNG 's colonial rulers also rejected manner. Of most newly Independent states are thus defined by a relationship of dependency ( Larrain, 1989 ) parliament..., education, offered through either Australian universities or through the Melanesian waters at the expense of the system. Is often assumed to have little control national Census Office, 1990.. Schools and hospitals between New Britain and Umboi Island is named after him we think it is suggested these... Quicken the pace of development is a means to improve the quality of life of the colonised are assumed mark! 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Speech that the facts of history seem to contradict what the modernisation model expects to happen Melanesian waters at same! Social costs cite all the research you need on ResearchGate used to achieve their by. That the facts of history seem to contradict what the modernisation model expects to happen heavily outnumbered Europeans. More as leaders of their people than as their representatives right of the distinctively indigenous forms colonialism..., 1978 ) were developed to produce secondary products and further accumulated goods! Has found itself trapped within this historical cycle are somehow unchanged by the leaders of people! Coast and then across the Bismark sea to New Ireland historically specific forms relationship with Australia the concept of texts. Today is oriented to promoting values of an administrative system that had been created: the NGO SIL international training! 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