The Bina Primary and Elementary School has joined the rest of the rural dwellings and institutions in Central province to connect to the Port Moresby power grid after PNG Power Ltd made the connection with the support of the New Zealand government.
This will now for the first time see the continuing and new students that will be attending the school in Galoma village next year, be learning in a school that has full electricity supply instead of using the old school generator from time to time whenever it is needed.
The Principal, Mr. Baena Tau, said the electricity service provided by PNG Power Ltd through its Rural on Grid Extension Project (ROGEP), will boost the school’s performance in a big way going forward.
“The children will learn new things, especially with the changes taking place in education, they should be updated more through the use of new technology,” he said.
He added that the access to electricity will also enable the school administration to run copies of tests and assignment papers, and other documents for the school in time using printers and copiers. Not only that, it will enable teachers to also work during nights to mark papers and prepare lessons for students.
Now that the school has received electricity, the principal also indicated that its time the school administration and board look at the plans to elevate the school’s status to a day high school in the near future.
Mr. Tau later thanked PNG Power for making all this possible for his school and the village.
Meanwhile, the ROGEP already covered three areas in Central province with Hula being the final area to cover under the project. More than 5, 600 rural dwellings, including Aid posts, schools, churches, businesses, and homes in the province are planned for connection and of that total, 2, 688 have already been connected while about 3, 207 more are yet to be connected between Galomarupu and Hula.
According to PNG Power, the other areas covered already are Kwikila, Sabusa/ Brown River, and Owers’ Corner.
The project’s goal is to provide economic and social benefits to rural areas of the Central province through the supply of electricity with increased access to clean, efficient, and affordable energy.
The ROGEP is supported by the New Zealand government through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade with a 20milllion New Zealand dollars funding to enable PNG Power to deliver the project in Central province in supporting the National Government as well deliver its aim to achieve 70% electricity coverage by 2030.