Budget to focus on education

Papua New Guinea's government is expected to hand down its 2012 budget on Tuesday, two weeks after it was due.

A spokesman for the National Executive council told AAP the budget papers would be handed down during Tuesday's parliamentary session, starting at 2pm local time (1500 AEDT).

The budget is expected to be 10 billion Kina ($A4.6 billion), with a particular focus on education.

The Port Moresby based National Newspaper reported on Monday that the O'Neill government is set to allocate 900 million kina ($A415 million) for free education for students up to Year 10, as well as a 75 per cent subsidy for students in Years 11 and 12.

The government will also add 350 million kina ($A161 million) to this from the nation's education trust account.

On Friday, the Supreme Court is due to hand down its decision on whether the August 2 election of Prime Minister Peter O'Neill was constitutional.

If ruled unconstitutional, some analysts predict the return of Sir Michael Somare's government.

However, most concede that with no precedent for a constitutional challenge of this kind, the outcome is unclear.

Regardless, the O'Neill government is pressing ahead with business.

The government has declared the nation's outcome-based education system a failure and announced an education taskforce to find a new curriculum for school students.

Mr O'Neill announced on Sunday that his government was also considering an Religious Affairs ministry to oversee closer ties to religious groups who offer basic services to PNG's mostly rural population.

'This ministry will strengthen the partnership between the government and the churches and ensure that funds put aside for church initiative projects can be utilised,' Mr O'Neill said.

- Sky News

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