Chancellor resigns to contest 2017 election

By NICHOLAS SIREO
PNG University of Technology chancellor Sir Nagora Bogan has  resigned to contest the national election next year.
He made this announcement during the university council meeting held at the Taraka campus last month.
His resignation will be effective from Dec 20.
Sir Nagora said the university council appointed Pro-Chancellor Jean Kekedo as the interim chancellor and council member and former  ambassador Peter Eafeare as interim pro-chancellor.
Sir Nagora took over as chancellor in 2012 when the university was in a period of instability and lack of good governance.
He said he was worried about his decision to step down. However, he felt that much had been accomplished during his term at Unitech despite setbacks and challenges, including the  student unrest this year.
Sir Nagora told The National that many projects initiated by the university council were yet to be completed but he was optimistic that the interim chancellor and the vice chancellor would manage the projects well until the end of their term.
“Things were not completed but I have faith in the management and the council and I would like to thank everyone including management, council, staff and students for their invaluable support and I wish all well in whatever you do,” he said.
Some of his major achievements  include instituting governance through various committees and restoring integrity, reforming the bursary and introducing financial controls and reporting, including the completion of 2013 and 2014 audits.
He expressed relief that this year’s academic year had ended well despite the student unrest in June which forced Unitech to suspend classes for four months.
Sir Nagora said there were still many challenges facing the university which included staffing restructure and lack of government funding.