Kokoda & Mt Koiari FODE
Kokoda FODE College
In 2012, KTF stood with Kokoda veterans - Bede Tongs, George Palmer, Owen Baskett and Garnet Tobin - and turned the first sod at a site in Kou Kou village, which would become KTF’s first FODE College. Eleven years later, KTF's Kokoda College is a thriving, rural education hub, carved out of the jungle at the end (or start) of the historic Kokoda Track.
Kokoda College’s focus is the delivery of High School education via the Flexible Open Distance Education (FODE) program that offers young adults a second chance at education. It enables early school leavers to re-enrol in high school and to matriculate at the Grade 12 level. It also allows those who have studied previously to upgrade their results to Grade 12 standard and improve their GPAs for minimum entry requirements into tertiary teaching and health worker courses. Students who are committed to training as teachers and health workers are accepted into the FODE program, and are supported to pursue tertiary studies after they graduate from Kokoda College.
A cohort of 225 students from three regions of Central & Oro Provinces (Kokoda Track, Northern Beaches and Tufi) are currently undertaking their studies at Kokoda College.
Mt Koiari FODE Centre
Taking learning to the most remote reaches of the Track, in 2022 KTF opened the Mt Koiari FODE Centre in Manari village. This satellite centre to Kokoda College is the first-ever high school offering on the Kokoda Track, making secondary education more accessible for the remote communities in the surrounding villages.
Bringing a lecturer to conduct face-to-face classes and provide student support each term will eliminate the need for students to make the arduous trek by foot across the Owen Stanley Range to Kokoda College; in turn increasing the number of students able to pursue education and career pathways that will assist their local communities.
The Mt Koiari FODE centre has enrolled 50 students across Grades 9 and 11, with equal gender participation.
With students coming from villages high in the mountains and by the sea, with long journeys by foot or by boat to undertake Flexible Open Distance Education (FODE), we are putting the F & D in FODE. The combination of intensive, face-to-face learning coupled with self-directed study and assignments (supported by e-learning) which avoids long periods away from home to attend college is critical for bringing education pathways to remote last-mile communities, often left behind.
Matriculation pathways are critical for rural PNG to have a sufficient pipeline of teachers and health workers to provide education and health services in remote areas. As the pipeline of suitably qualified candidates increases, KTF will review opportunities to offer pre-service training programs and associated accreditation for delivery at Kokoda College.
Click here to read an independent evaluation of our Kokoda College project; and here for KTF’s response for continuous project improvement.
Student profile - Aron Sega
Aron is from Alola village, three-quarters of the way along the Kokoda Track. He is a committed teacher and a student at Kokoda College.
Aron trained as a teacher with KTF in 2012 and completed his certificate of elementary teaching under our 2016 Teach for Tomorrow project in Popondetta. On graduation, he was employed as a full-time teacher by KTF to deliver schooling in Alola. At the time, the village had no permanent classroom; but Aron was one of three teachers to deliver elementary schooling supported by KTF. As the population of Alola decreased in subsequent years, Aron’s peer teachers also left the village, leaving him as the sole teacher for the community.
An extremely dedicated teacher, recognised and supported by his community in his role, Aron finally became officially recognised by the Teaching Service Commission in 2020, however his professional development continues. New GPA requirements for PNG teachers has seen Aron enrol at Kokoda College to upgrade his results. Wearing hats as both teacher and student, the flexibility of FODE allows Aron to juggle his providing quality education to his students whilst achieving good results at Kokoda College. He enters Grade 12 in 2022.
Kokoda College - KTF’s regional hub
Although our work now spans across PNG, Kokoda College is KTF’s ‘home’. As well as facilitating education pathways for teachers and health workers, it is the hub for a range of projects, including:
Healthy Communities - home to the Kokoda College Aid Post, providing vital primary healthcare to the Kou Kou community and the surrounding region.
Project Airborne - KTF's COVID-19 response for Oro province is centralised at the College. Medical, hygiene and WASH supplies plus awareness materials are distributed to aid posts and schools in the Mt Koiari and Northern Beaches regions from here.
Light for Learning - providing students and communities in remote Oro province with a reliable source of clean solar lighting and power.
Light for Life - KTF worked alongside the Northern (Oro) Provincial Health Authority to supply and install solar fridges to aid posts, upskill health workers and conduct vaccine awareness patrols across the province.
Kokoda College & Mt Koiari FODE is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) and the Kokoda Initiative.
