Papua New Guinea urged to emulate Australia to avert teacher shortage
A Lowy Institute report says Papua New Guinea will need up to 124,000 teachers by 2033, far exceeding the 2,200 teachers trained annually.
According to a Lowy Institute analysis, Papua New Guinea faces a severe teacher shortage, requiring as many as 124,000 educators by 2033 while its training institutions certify only 2,200 each year. The report notes that $1.5 billion allocated to education in the latest budget and $1.2 billion from Australia have not improved learning results. An additional 20,000 teachers are expected to retire soon, compounding the gap.
The author, Serena Sasingian, urges PNG to craft a ten-year strategy that expands teacher training capacity and makes the career attractive to high-performing graduates. She points to Australia’s approach of treating teacher scarcity as a national workforce issue with direct financial support as a template. The analysis stresses that without such reforms, PNG’s education system will struggle to meet growing student demand.
Why it matters
A teacher shortage threatens the quality of education for millions of Papua New Guinean children.
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