PIBC Tol Graduation Pictures

From my excursion to the PIBC Tol graduation last weekend. Tol is an island in the Faichuuk region of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia.



There aren't any roads on Tol (although there were roads during the Japanese occupation of WWII) and everyone travels by boat. We fly for 90 minutes from Guam into "Chuuk International Airport" on the island of Weno. Then we travel an hour (more or less -- depending on the conditions) by boat to Tol.

There were 24 "graduates" on Saturday -- although only three actually completed all of the work for a PIBC Diploma. However, in keeping with their communal tradition everyone "graduates" together at the completion of their three years on the campus. Most of the students will then go on to work on finishing up the requirements for an AA or BA degree -- either at the PIBC teaching facility on Weno or on the Guam campus. A few will work on completing the Diploma.

There is a bit of unrest in the ranks because we (the college administrators on Guam) are cutting the Tol program starting next year from three years to two years. The transition has to do with infrastructure and operational issues on the campus (it's hard to do a full college program and meet all of the accreditation requirements in such a remote spot -- not impossible -- but nearly so) and a shortage of qualified teachers willing to serve there. But it also has to do with how we perceive the developing needs of Chuuk. The Diploma, with little general education in the curriculum, is inadequate training for service in the schools and other future positions in Chuuk. We have developed a new curriculum sequence which will allow students to complete an AA through two-years of study on the Tol campus.

But change is hard -- especially if you live in a region where education and health services have dramatically declined over the past 25 years. So there is great suspicion of change and "reform" of any sort. To them it looks as though we're cutting services. To us it looks like we're refocusing the institutional energy in a direction that will ultimately bring great benefit. We trust that they'll understand once they see the new system in operation. But it's hard and not everyone is a happy camper.