Balimo FODE College

Balimo FODE College is a PNG Sustainable Development Program (SDP) education initiative, managed by KTF.

Commencing operations in 2019, Balimo College rapidly became KTF’s largest Flexible Open Distance Education (FODE) centre with 300 students studying grades 9 to 12.

Western Province is one of the largest and most inaccessible in Papua New Guinea, with vast flatland river systems abutting mountain ranges in the north and very limited infrastructure and transport options. A sparse population makes accessing education, particularly at a secondary level, challenging outside the provincial capital of Daru.

With villages dotted between rivers and tributaries, dinghy or canoes are often the most common transport options, the FODE model works particularly well. The combination of intensive, face-to-face learning coupled with self-directed study and assignments (supported by e-learning) each term avoids long periods away from home to attend college; something that is not an option for many, particularly women with family commitments.