We need an educated population

By Michael Kabuni – posted on Academia Nomad

If I had an option of creating my own village, I would be happy to have all the University graduates without jobs as members of the village.

Our chief would be someone with a degree in psychology from UPNG. Our church treasurer would be an accountant graduate from Unitech. Our marriage counsellor from the church would be a law graduate from UPNG who understands international conventions on human rights and the constitutional limitations on the application of custom. An anthropology graduate would be our land mediator.

Our village committees would be headed by degree holders. An environmental graduate would lead the village’s efforts to build resilience against climate change. We would have a wide array of educated individuals who would fight against government sponsored land grabbing and loggers.

Guys from University of National Resources & Environment would lead the inland fisheries farming, and adoption of climate resilient crops.

This village would be more educated than my current village back home. My folks home don’t have a formal job. But they also have very limited understanding of the issues listed above. A village settled by job-less University graduates is better than one that doesn’t.

Our village meetings would give equal opportunities for men and women to speak. The quality of the discussions would be far superior.

My point is this, getting a formal job should not be the main reason for getting an education. And The National Newspaper’s front page story that paints that it’s all gloom and doom is back there are no jobs is wrong.

PNG’s literacy rate is the lowest in the region, and we need everyone educated. Not necessarily so they can get a formal employment, but because an educated population is critical of their government, make educated decisions, health conscious, and can fight for their rights more effectively, among many other things.