The University of Papua New Guinea has for a long time
been in need of far-reaching reform. But not all change is good, and what has happened this year at UPNG has taken the university in the wrong direction.
 |
| pn299 |
In late January, the Higher Education Minister, Pila Niningi, dissolved the UPNG Council, appointed a new interim council, and put in his own choice of vice-chancellor, all on the grounds that the old council was not performing.
You can see his reasons for the decision, basically a number of serious performance and integrity issues, in this just-released ministerial statement. It seems convincing.
But what the minister has never mentioned is that the selection process for the position of UPNG Vice Chancellor was concluded last year and the result informally made public early this year. That process, widely regarded to be transparent and credible, resulted in the appointment of Dr Frank Griffin as the new vice–chancellor.
1 comment:
Interesting that a crisis at UPNG is when there is a fight over Council, VC etc. The place has been in crisis for years but it took this type of event to bring the hitherto silent critics out of the wwodwork. From the Australian aid point of view, fixing UPNG has previously meant millions for a largely useless graduate economics, business etc building and programme staffed by very expensive overseas appointments. Nothing for student accomodation, which is at near-slum conditions, nothing for a library which was once superb and is now almost useless, nothing for teaching facilities in most areas where standards are appalling. A very stupid policy propagated by domestic nationalists and international advisers that the country should concentrate on fixing primary education and under-funding tertiary studies as if primary school teachers shouldn't be tertiary trained. All these deficiencies have been known,documented and ignored for years but now there is a crisis. Expect nothing to happen. Even if Australian advisers and consultants now want to affect what happens at UPNG, there is no longer any substantial influence on what is probably the most corrupt government PNG has ever had.
Post a Comment