Prime Minister Julia Gillard saw first-hand the impact of Australia's flagship education program in Papua New Guinea when she visited a secondary school for girls on the outskirts of Port Moresby last week.
At Marianville Secondary School, she was greeted by two head girls and over 600 students singing both the Australian and PNG national anthems. Since 2001, AusAID's Incentive Fund has provided Marianville with over $4 million for building and improving infrastructure and more than 3000 textbooks through the Education Program.
Marianville is one of only four girls-only secondary schools in Papua New Guinea and its students have become some of the country's highest achieving women – more than 80 per cent of the school's graduates go on to tertiary education.
After being welcomed to the school by its long-serving principal, Australian-born Sister Angela Taylor, Ms Gillard commended Sister Taylor, teachers and students for their talent and hard work.
"When I travel internationally I always love coming to schools. You can feel the future of a country; you can see it being made in classrooms," she told local and Australian journalists after the visit.
"The girls here are going to be a big part of the future of this country and I want that to be a future where women have fully equal roles with men.
"I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to AusAID for the work that they do."
From Marianville school, the Prime Minister moved on to the University of Papua New Guinea where she launched a rugby league program in PNG schools that will encourage healthy lifestyles for 50,000 children while boosting their physical, social, reading and maths skills.
An excited group of 8 to 12 year olds showed Ms Gillard their ball skills, as members of PNG's national team, the Kumuls, guided them through a range of football drills.
The PNG Rugby League in Schools Pilot Program will support 50,000 Papua New Guinean boys and girls to participate in rugby league in 80 primary schools across three provinces. The program is spearheaded by former Parramatta Eels and West Tigers player, Australian John Wilson, and CEO of the Australian NRL, David Smith.
The program will go well beyond sport, promoting team building, fair play and healthy lifestyles. A four to six week program in each school will involve in-class activities, lessons on social responsibility (for example respect for women, avoiding drugs) as well as clinics that develop physical skills and teamwork.
The Australian Sports Commission and the National Rugby League will deliver the program in partnership with the PNG National Department of Education and PNG Rugby Football League over three years (2013-16).