ENVIRONMENT
GOROKA Syntax School was the only school in Eastern Highlands to openly celebrate the 2026 World Environment Day with the public in Goroka this year.
Goroka town hosts a number of large educational institutions, both government and private, but none of them have decided to share awareness messages on the impact of environment on climate on World Environment Day (WED), June 5.
Syntax School students, ranging from early childhood schoolers to Grade 12s took to Goroka’s Peace Park to conduct awareness and share information on environment and climate change.
According to Syntax School director Dominic Gahane, the theme of the 2026 was Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future.
Gahane said there were massive campaign rallies around the world for the urgency of climate actions.
He said given the importance of impacts the environment makes in the lives of human beings, Syntax School has decided to come out to join the world in its campaign rallies based on inspirations of nature on climate and future.
Students performed songs and plays, read poems, played musical instruments, and displayed posters and banners that shared information on the environment.
Every activity by the students portrayed a message that said the environment provided everything needed for survival.
Guest speaker, an environmentalist Gibson Heigen from Goroka based non-governmental oprganisation (NGO) Research and Conservation Foundation (RCF) told students of Syntax School that everything a human person needed for survival came from the environment.
“The environment provides the essential needs for survival such as oxygen for animals including humans, which come from process called photosynthesis in plants,” Heigen said.
“Water is an essential need that is sourced from the environment from rives, rain and groundwater. Plants and the soil filters water naturally.
“Humans greatly benefit from the environment through food crops, fish, livestock, wild fruits, nuts and even tiny microbes that help grow food,” he explained to the students.
Syntax School students also demonstrated things we use every day that come from the environment.
They named some as materials like timbers for building, cotton for clothes, minerals for jewels, energy from the sun for solar power, and medicines.
More than 50 per cent modern medicines came from plants, fungi and bacteria from the environment, the students said.
Heigen said humans used the environment to get what they need for survival everyday but without consideration to take care of it.
Students, teachers and management of Syntax School passed on the message that WED was the biggest and most observed annual event that fell every June 5, and it was one of the United Nations’ biggest global environmental campaigns.
School director Gahane, meanwhile, noted government funded schools ought to step out to conduct important awareness but have not done so this year.
“Every individual has a role to protect the environment. The Government must support awareness messages through institutions like Syntax School because without the environment life will be impossible. We have a duty to look after our environment,” Gahane said.
Gahane’s school was accused of cheating in a national examination in 2023 and deregistered but was later cleared by the education department.
An investigation report on the alleged cheating in the Agriculture and English exam papers during the 2023 national examination cleared the school.
“Secretary for Education Dr Uke Kombra, in a letter dated July 16, 2025 notified me as director of Syntax School that the department had decided to re-register the school.”
Kombra told Gahane in that letter: “This is to formally notify you that the Goroka Syntax Secondary School was approved for re-registration. The school maintains the same registration code PS528/1983.”
Kombra reportedly thanked Gahane for continuously providing quality education in Eastern Highlands.
Goroka Syntax School was established in 2015, delivering early childhood education up to Grade 12 classes.
Gahane thanked parents, students, staff and stakeholders for remaining committed to the school during the tumultuous period.
