Country’s top national universities in crisis

TWO of the country’s top universities are in crisis and need urgent government intervention.
The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) and the Uni­versity of Technology (Unitech) are widely regarded as the premier universities in the South Pa­cific but have struggled to provide competitive education due
to lack of government funding.
During the past 15 years, the government has done very little to support these universities to deliver their objectives and stay competitive with other univer­sities.
What is becoming more em­barrassing is the downward spiral in the quality of education provided by these universities.
Many acade­mics or aspiring academics are struggling to meet one of the most important re­quirements – research and publication – for obvious reasons but one that prominently stands out is the salary scale.
So where does the government come in?
History has shown that pre­vious governments had done very little to actually define how these universities could be de­veloped to meet global demand.
Papua New Guinea is not alone but is part of the global village.
Therefore, it must respond to changes consistently.
And this requires philosophical and intellectual nurturing which universities provide.
Apart from teaching students to understand universal education and become responsible scholars in their respective field of studies, universities must also maintain a sustainable interest
in research.
Research findings give new insights into answering the how, why, where and what.
Responsible and successful governments of advanced eco-nomies maintain a very close
and vibrant relationship with their universities.
This is an issue that cannot be ignored.

Samson Wena
Kerowagi, Chimbu