Chapter 16: Capacity Building in Distance Education: A University of Papua New Guinea Open College Experience

Theoretical debates continue and decisions on developmental policies by governments the world over abound on the issue of what development is and how development should be achieved. These debates have sometimes stressed that technological advancement and material goods and services are important but at other times have focused on the social well-being of humanity. In pursuing either of these goals for development, a key variable has been the role that education plays in the process of development. Given its geographical and socio-cultural context, Papua New Guinea (PNG) has its own developmental challenges.

PNG is the largest island country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands. It is one of the most diverse countries on earth, with over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of just under 6 million. It is also one of the most rural, with only about 18% of its people living in urban centers. The country is also one of the world’s least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior of PNG.