Despite Papua New Guinea’s policies for universal primary education and the considerable progress it has made since independence in expanding education, schooling remains neither free nor compulsory. At most about two-thirds of school-age children attend school, and some three-fifths of adults are literate; in both cases rates are lower among women and girls than among men and boys. Only about half of those who begin primary school complete all six years, and only one-fourth of those students enroll in secondary school.

Even though education is a major priority of government, the rapid growth and extreme youthfulness of the population means that educational demand outstrips supply, and, when an economic choice is necessary, families tend to spend their limited funds to educate sons rather than daughters. 

The country has four state-run universities—notably, the University of Papua New Guinea, in Port Moresby—and two that are church-based, as well as a number of teacher-training institutions and a medical school.