Ap Ma FODE Center
Samban Village - Est. 2016
"Experience Education- Ask questions, Seek answers, Find truth"
Ap Ma FODE Centre offers government accredited grade 7-12 courses in all required subjects. These classes are offered as distance/correspondence studies with 10 hours of weekly in class tutorials per grade. Enrolment is offered once a year and all courses are to be finished within the year. National Assessment tests are given in grades 8, 10, 11 and 12 for all subject areas. Grades 7 and 9 are given final exams and marks are given by averaging assignments given throughout the course and exam scores. Upon completion of the required subjects and tests certificates of completion are given by the National Department of Education for those completing grades 8, 10 and 12.
OIPNG is happy to offer grade 7-12 courses to all interested school leavers and adults who would like to complete any of these levels of education. Classes are open only to those who live in the immediate area as class times are mandatory and no housing is available at this time. Enrolment for 2018 will begin on November 20th, 2017 at the FODE Classroom in Samban Village from 1pm-5pm. Pre-enrolment testing will be held on December 6th in the FODE classroom in Samban for new students only. Those wishing to pre-enrol may pick up a form at the Samban Clinic Store.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is F.O.D.E?
FODE stands for Flexible, Open, Distance, Education
FODE schools were created as an alternative to the highly competitive secondary schools which traditionally select only the top 2-5% of the nation's grade 8 graduates. Each province has a distance education office which provides copied school materials and assignments for students willing to pay for the lessons and bring them back and forth to the office to be graded. Our centre brings this service to the village level removing the costly trips to and from town and providing the opportunity for students to meet together with teachers.
What is an R.S.C?
RSC stands for Registered Study Centre. RSC were created to use the FODE materials in conjunction with a teacher or tutor which offers class or study hours to better student performance. The Ap Ma FODE Centre is an RSC.
What makes Ap Ma FODE Centre unique?
Ap Ma FODE Centre has daily scheduled class meetings for each grade level. The Centre operates through the fees collected from students and donations made by OIPNG. Students are asked to sign an honour contract pledging to complete all assignments independently and to behave in a Christ-like manner and attend class regularly while they are students of the school.
Plans for the new School Year
By 2018 the Ap Ma FODE Centre will expand its course offering to include Bible and Christian Studies courses that are offered through C.L.T.C. (Christian Leadership Training Centre, Banz EHP).
Also in the 2018 school year students will be shifting to from paper to digital books through the use of small tablets. This is a requirement of the new standards based curriculum that each student be familiar with and able to use computers as a part of their basic education.
Who attends the Ap Ma FODE Centre?
Ap Ma FODE Centre is open to all those who have completed 6 years of school or can pass a pre-enrollment test at a grade 6 level. We have students from 16-65 year of age. Many of our the students are currently employed in the schools and clinic and are trying to attain their grade 12 certificate for the first time. (Many grade 10 who finished school in the 80-90's were allowed to take teacher training and health worker training due to a shortage of qualified grade 12 graduates).
Why is a Christian Mission involved in a government school?
OIPNG has been working in Samban since 2004. From the very beginning it has been the goal of OIPNG to fully localize all positions created either in the clinics, schools, churches etc. In order to fulfill our goal of localizing all positions we must have qualified, educated people. The government of PNG requires teachers and medical professionals to attend government recognized schools to attain their credentials. Many of our Christian youth have not finished 12 years of school and are therefore unable to apply to different training schools and colleges. FODE is a way to provide Christian youth and adults with a second chance to finish their grade 12 education and open up the doors for training in government recognized colleges and universities.
