Papua New Guinea wants to better leverage foreign partnerships for its international education strategy. At the same time this will allow national and local authorities to assert greater agency in shaping educational outcomes.
China is one focus. PNG’s growing emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) studies through state-sponsored scholarships and locally driven district sponsorship programs marks a new phase in the evolving relationship with Beijing. But the STEM focus also flags opportunities for other education partners.
China is already involved in support for PNG’s education sector, where Confucius Institutes at the University of Goroka and the PNG University of Technology have introduced Mandarin programs to promote linguistic and cultural exchange. These initiatives sought to build goodwill and cultivate people-to-people ties. For many PNG students and civil servants, studying Chinese language has opened pathways to pursue further studies in China. But PNG’s pressing national development needs mean less focus on language, and more on technical and scientific expertise.
STEM scholarships now serve more targeted developmental needs, in areas such as infrastructure development and digital transformation.
In 2024, PNG’s government under Prime Minister James Marape launched the STEM Scholarship Program to support high-performing school leavers to pursue science and engineering degrees abroad. This effort reflects a policy shift aimed at reducing dependence on extractive industries by building a workforce that can drive innovation and sustainable growth. The inaugural cohort included 54 students selected from six national schools of excellence – Sogeri, Aiyura, Kerevat, Passam, Wawin, and Port Moresby – who are now studying at China Three Gorges University in fields such as electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, chemical engineering, and computer science.
The STEM focus is not limited to China. PNG is expanding partnerships with other countries, including India, Fiji, and the United States, broadening its international education strategy beyond a single bilateral relationship. This diversification signals a more balanced approach to foreign engagement, where PNG defines its developmental priorities and uses diplomacy to pursue them.
For Australia, this evolving landscape presents both a challenge and an opportunity. As PNG broadens its educational ties with China, India, and others, Australia will need to reinvigorate its own education diplomacy, especially in STEM, to remain a preferred and influential partner in the region. As consultant Dr Clement Waine observed, Australia is increasingly uncompetitive on cost in the international education space. The decision to send PNG’s STEM students to the United States, he explained, was based largely on affordability. With comparable academic outcomes available at significantly lower costs, Australia risks losing ground unless it reconsiders the accessibility and structure of its higher education offerings for regional partners like PNG.
District-level sponsorship programs are emerging as powerful mechanisms for decentralised investment in higher education. In April this year, the Unggai-Bena District in the Eastern Highlands Province sent its first ten students to China for undergraduate STEM degrees. The initiative, financed through the District Services Improvement Program, is the first of its kind in the province. Dr Jethro Messimato, who oversees the district’s scholarship office, has confirmed plans to send up to 200 more students abroad in 2025, with new partnerships signed with institutions including Parul University in India where 120 Hela students are currently studying.
This district-driven approach represents a bottom-up model of educational development. It demonstrates growing responsiveness by local leaders to the aspirations of their constituents – particularly the demand among youth for tertiary education and international exposure. It also reflects a shift in thinking: instead of relying solely on central government or donor-funded scholarships, districts are taking ownership of long-term human capital investment.
This pivot from language to STEM does not suggest a waning of China’s influence. Rather, it reflects a recalibration of that relationship. Mandarin instruction, especially within civil service and defence cooperation, continues. But STEM scholarships now serve more targeted developmental needs, in areas such as infrastructure development and digital transformation.
Likewise, for China, this presents both opportunities and challenges. The continued flow of PNG students into Chinese universities strengthens elite connections and increases familiarity with China’s development model. However, the emergence of India, the United States, and multilateral education arrangements introduces more competition for influence in PNG’s education sector.
These shifts reveal a broader trend in the Pacific. PNG and other countries are becoming more assertive in setting the terms of engagement with major powers. Education is no longer just a soft power tool wielded by donors; it is increasingly a platform through which Pacific states articulate their own priorities, build technical capacity, and shape their future.
As PNG redefines its education diplomacy, it is no longer just a passive recipient of external influence. It is positioning itself as an actor capable of leveraging education to pursue national development, economic diversification, and strategic balance in a contested Indo-Pacific environment.
In the contest over influence in the Pacific, it is no longer just about whose language is spoken – it is about whose knowledge is transferred, whose systems are adopted, and whose developmental pathways resonate. PNG is showing that small states can move from the margins of geopolitical competition to the centre of their own policy agendas.
