PNG LNG - the topic of dicussion for the Grade 12 written expression exam

My 18-year-old nephew Shannon is sitting for an exam at Gordons High school today. He is one of thousands of Grade 12 students sitting for the written expression exam nationwide. The examination involves writing a 350-500 word essay on the PNG LNG project.

Last Thursday evening I sat with him and went through some of the publicity material that PNG LNG project had put out as well as the "work book" given to students to prepare them for the exam. There were about 10 articles in the work book for students to use as references for discussing 4 main topics. One of the articles was mine from this blogsite "PNG LNG milestone - holistic growth? (Friday March 9 2010)


Shannon and I sat working for about 4 hours discussing the pro and cons of the project; lessons learnt from other areas and PNG and what benefits he would like to see come out of the project. His 14-year-old cousin who attends Kopkop College sat and listened to the discussions as well. I was too tired to stay up after 10.30 but Shannon stayed on for another couple of hours going through what we had discussed. He planned to brain-storm the questions and the discussions at the weekend with his study buddy and cousin, Melvin, prior to writing up a mock essay before the exam. 

This written expression exam is the first of university, college entry level exam. The rest of the Grade 12 examinations will be conducted in November.

The thing that struck me were the probing questions on the LNG project that the examiners at the Education Department had formulated for the students such as - will the project meet our expectations; how will the project benefit us etc?  I found this to be an excellent way to get our young generation to really understand the issues surrounding the LNG Project and think ahead about how they would like their future to be.

I wish I could read the thousands of answers that will come out from the written essays today. That would be an amazing insight into the thoughts and minds of our young people about the most important economic project that has come about in the life of this nation. Reading the answers would also provide an interesting perspective for planners in the Government and the LNG project to take into consideration; moving forward.