Academics call for improved human resource

By GLORIA BAUAI
TWO leading academics say the Government can do much better in investing in effective human resources.
Dr Yalinu Poya Gow, from Glasgow University in Scotland, and Dr Ora Renagi, vice-chancellor of PNG’s University of Technology, say PNG’s development starts with its people.
“We cannot be a country that’s mainly dependent on our vast natural resources,” Yalinu said.
“We need to develop an effective human resource, educate our people, build better schools and create better opportunities for the youth.
“Education allows us to become thinkers and decision makers, to better understand what is going on in our country to keep our leaders accountable.”
Renagi, a physicist, said successive governments had been delivering education tailored to support the development of only big cities.
He said this had been a factor to imbalanced development, overlooking 85 per cent of the voting population in rural PNG.
Renagi said stronger relationship between government, education institutions like universities and industries would better address development gaps in the country.
“We (institutions) have the technologies and the knowledge to improve the lives of our rural people if the government invested the resources,” he said.
“MPs should be leading the change to transfer and translate these services.
“Education institutions, in turn, have the responsibility to develop critical thinkers and effective communicators to add value to whole of PNG.”