Uni urged to clear air on staff shortage

By FRANK RAI
Concerned parents of students studying at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology (Unitech) at the Taraka campus in Lae have raised concerns that the university should come out clear on the prolonged “staff shortage” problem.
They also said they were calling on the National Government and the Education Department to intervene and solve the problem once and for all if the university would not resolve its internal problems.
“This problem has been pestering for years, why can’t the university council, its administration or the Government take ownership and solve it once and for all?” a concerned parent from Lae said.
The parent was one amongst many callers, who were responding to a front page report carried by The National last Friday on the issue of staff shortage and the closure of the Mining Engineering Department at Unitech.
The callers told The National last weekend that the university council, university administration and the National Government were the ones at “fault” for prolonging the issue and not taking any action to sort out the problem.
The callers claimed that they were concerned for the future of their sons and daughters, who were studying at the university.
They added that the authorities concerned should inform the public on the current situation of the university.
Sharing the same sentiments, a parent said the Mining Engineering Department should be the foremost issue that needed to be “seriously addressed”.
“The Mining Engineering Department has produced world class miners and since we have a mining boom in the country, we have to let it operate to train our own miners.
“This department should be seriously looked at if all the allegations or claims are true,” he added.
He also asked that the industrial, economical and national implications on the issue be evaluated before any decisions by the authorities to resolve the issue was made.
He also claimed that the administration was taking the issue on a personal basis with the National Academic Staff Association (NASA).
He added that it was time the Government should step in to address the issue which had involved both the students, Students’ Representative Council (SRC) and NASA since the beginning of last year.