More colleges and universities needed

Letters

I am so concerned as Grade 12 students sit for their examinations this week.
I read in Tuesday’s newspaper that 27,966 Grade 12s from 164 upper secondary schools are sitting for their final examinations.
The sad truth is the tertiary spaces have not changed much.
We have less than 7000 spaces in higher institutions.
Where will the rest of the Grade 12 students go?
We are talking about 20,000 Grade 12 students.
This is not a minor issue.
I graduated from Kerevat National High School two years ago.
I had friends who had very high GPAs, but just because they missed out on their first choice, they never acquired any more spaces in tertiary institutions.
This is the same for so many students in the country.
The major problem we have in the country at this time is:
We need more universities and colleges to cater for the growing number of Grade 12 students.
Parents, this may not be a major issue to you, but once you don’t see your child’s name on the newspaper then you will really understand what I am talking about.
It is not that our students are failures.
There is not enough space in higher institutions to give them a chance to unleash their full potential.

Glen Burua
Divine Word University
Madang