Australian Aid and the Development of Education Policy: Reframing Engagement in Papua New Guinea

A first glance at almost any policy document generated by a bilateral or multilateral donor agency reveals a familiar rhetoric of participation, partnership, aid effectiveness, good governance, and sustainable growth as key ingredients for a successful development program. A key policy debate is that while some critics of this rhetoric argue that this is merely a recasting of old aid agendas, there are others who confirm that recent rethinking of aid policies and agendas are sincere efforts to address poverty reduction and ensure aid effectiveness. Education has been proposed as an indispensable element to achieve the aforementioned goals of development policy rhetoric, not least in the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).