La Salle Academy principal Joyce Smith took an eye-opening tour of education at Papua New Guinea (PNG) earlier this year, from February 28 to March 2.
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She traveled to Port Moresby as part of a meeting with De La Salle brothers and principals in Lasallian schools, from across NSW and New Zealand to see the work they do for education across the world.
Mrs Smith visited the La Salle Technical College, De La Salle Bomana, Jubilee Secondary School in Bomana and Sacred Heart Teacher's College.
"All students wore their uniforms to high standards and showed our group through their school with very high levels of pride," she said.
She also said it was quite the eye opening experience for her to see the harsh conditions experienced by students and teachers in the classroom.
"There was a lack of resources that teachers experienced, but they still managed to provide rich learning experiences for their students," she said.
Mrs Smith said temperatures were extreme and there were high levels of humidity causing discomfort for students and teachers.
"A typical classroom was about the size of our classrooms at La Salle Academy but they contained anywhere from 40 to 60 students, a couple of ceiling fans if they were lucky, no textbooks, or very old textbooks that were donated from schools in first world countries, and usually a blackboard instead of a whiteboard," she said.
She also said there was no internet, smartphones, computers or air conditioning.
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"A couple of principals had air conditioned admin blocks, but other than that lights were usually turned off to conserve energy and minimise the heat, the classrooms were fairly dark," she said.
Despite the conditions, Mrs Smith said she thought the students and staff worked well together to rise above the challenges.
"They all tried to make the most out of a day of learning," she said.
According to Mrs Smith the school had around 1000 students in attendance as the government required the school to take far more students than they had the capacity for.
"A couple of principals had been arrested by police for daring to challenge the government on that issue," she said.
Overall Mrs Smith said Papua New Guinea had made an impression on her, without a doubt.
"Through this experience I have a much better understanding of the selfless work of the De La Salle brothers, who sacrifice so much for their vocation of education and who make such a difference in the lives of young people all over the world," she said.
She also thanked the school's and the Lasallian Mission Council for their hospitality and organisation of the event.
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