Secretary for the Department of ICT, Mr. Steven Matainaho has praised the Department of Education for transitioning to be digitally focused with their education systems following the launching of 5 new digital apps in Port Moresby on Tuesday.

The Department of Education has set long term goals and digital transformation plays a huge role for the education sector, creating a more efficient and effective workable systems.

The Department of ICT has the Digital Government Act which mandates and provides a legal framework for digital transformation across the Public Service, while the Digital Policy of 2020 and the Digital Plan 2023-2027 set that mark which the department of education is embarking on.

“For the Education Sector, they play an important role because that’s where everything starts. And if we can adopt technology right from the beginning of early childhood and all the way up, then we will see a good ethical adoption that will drive innovation within the industry,” said Secretary Matainaho.

Meanwhile, the recent court decision win for the country’s ICT Regulator, NICTA has now moved on with completing licensing and issuing of Starlink. This is welcoming for the Department of ICT as it enables them to rollout ICT infrastructure to boost government policies and government service delivery.

Mr. Matainaho explained from the ICT perspective that because Starlink is the only Leo-satellite solution in town and it is direct to consumer consumption. Meaning there is no need to go to a Portal Operator and pay for installation and other services.

“It is not about us; we are just here to serve the purpose of educating our future. And so, technology is just an enabler. We use technology to achieve our goals and our objectives,” concluded Secretary Matainaho.