Office of Higher Education celebrates 25 years
FROM humble beginnings when its main responsibility was to dispense government scholarship, at the turn of the 20th century they are exerting their competence as a viable government agency.
The Papua New Guinea Office of Higher Education (OHE) celebrates 25 years as the national coordination agency of the higher education sector since its establishment by the Papua New Guinea government in 1983.
The highlight of its anniversary celebrations will be the launching of the next 15-year Higher Education Plan 2008-2023 and its own web site in July 2008. These will set the next phase of the OHE’s journey to 2033.
OHE is coming of age with the diversification of its functions. Until 1998, the OHE served as a Secretariat of the National Commission for Higher Education (NCHE). In 1998 government separated the OHE from the CHE with the amendment of the Higher Education Act and now functions as the department responsible for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology. Economic reforms by the National Alliance led Government of Prime Minister Sir Michael Thomas Somare, GCL, GCMG, CH, CF, KSt.J, changed the character and functions of the OHE.
The pressure for reform in higher education is derived from the government’s four policy focus areas on economic recovery; development, governance and iinternational relations & security growing expectations and demands of different stakeholders in society.
As a state agency the OHE is confronted with a situation in which the principles of financial sustainability and responsiveness to stakeholders prevail amidst policies of massification, strategies of efficiencies, governance and entrepreneurialism an academic redundancy. A revitalised OHE commenced the reform strategies and measures to address quality assurance, performance evaluation, financial audit, consolidation of gains since 1995 and market competition to improve the performance of the higher education sector.
Its medium term strategy now straddles eight programs, with particular reference to:
* Resource mobilization
* Research
* Science and technology
* Quality assurance to support programs on access and equity
* Distance and flexible learning
* Academic programs
* Administrative efficiency and
* Governance.
OHE’s response strategy accentuates the national four pillars of development by choosing innovation through science, technology and sociology as the integrating theme. The focus on innovation includes value adding and ingenuity to which the PNG society thinks, behaves and works for the healthy economic future of PNG.
The year 2008 is crucial for OHE because we have reached a threshold as a government agency. At OHE we hold that our reforms have been crafted to achieve the higher education fitness for purpose for the national pillars of development to which we have established the critical parts to strengthen:
1. Information Management - by building a better database of higher education development needs
2. Exposure of students to different work ethics, high growth business models, scientific and technological capability in the nation’s Commercial and Industrial Parks
3. Taking charge of the National Labour Market Study/Manpower Assessment to inform occupational classification and the numbers and specifics of program offerings.
4. A program of graduate Research Scientists and Engineers to participate in research and development programs in the Schools and industrial parks being created by government.
5. Supporting Industrial Training for science and engineering students.
6. Classification and periodic assessment of the 29 higher education institutions in terms of their contributions to government’s four pillars of development. Institutions are classified in terms of the following:
* Academic leadership,
* Professional development,
* Technological training and development,
* Specialized, and
* General higher education
7. Major Resource Study of the higher education sector to identify critical problems and opportunities for further reforms consistent with the government’s right sizing policy.
8. Rehabilitation of the universities infrastructure.
9. Supportive role for higher education at the highest government’s levels.
The foregoing initiatives considered the viability of economies of scale to alleviate the financial burden by government.
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