Graduates awaiting certificates

BALOB Teachers College graduates of 2019-2021 have been waiting for their diploma certificates for the last four years.
Teachers spokesman Simon Gura said they had sought the help of the Ombudsman Commission which assisted by sending a formal letter to Education secretary Dr Uke Kombra regarding the diploma certificate issue.
Gura said it had been four years and the 309 graduates were still waiting for their papers to certify them as professional teachers.
The teachers said they were not certified despite graduating with diplomas in primary school teaching and meeting the required GPA (grade point average).
They alleged that some students who did not meet the GPA requirements, graduated and were given their diploma certificates while others who met the requirements, were not certified.
“We are struggling to survive in the city as we are all not from Morobe, we came to study,” they said.
“City life is very difficult to survive, especially when living with other people who became family through friendships.”
The graduates called on the Department of Education to sort out the issue since it occurred between 2019 and 2021 when the college was then under the Department of Education.
From the report filed through Ombudsman Commission, principal Jerry Hendingao said it was reported that a syndicate was operating within the college’s registration system that led to many unqualified students enrolled between 2017 and 2019.
Hendingao said the syndicate was uncovered and the main perpetrators were terminated at the beginning of 2020 but by then, many of the graduates were refused their diploma certificates.
He said the 2019-2021 cohorts unfortunately were remnants of the misdemeanor where many students had questionable GPAs of entry and fake certificates.