Lack of job forces uni to cut radiation therapy course

The Papua New Guinea University of Technology has discontinued its Bachelor of Science in Radiation Therapy course because only eight students found jobs out of 30 students who have graduated, says the university’s vice-chancellor.
Dr Ora Renagi said it was becoming pointless to both the university and the students.
He said the university had an agreement with Angau Memorial Hospital in to teach a Bachelor of Science in Radiation Therapy course to help staffing at the hospital’s cancer unit.
The course started in 2015 with 15 students and the university was bringing an Australian on a regular basis to help teach the course.
Dr Renagi said the university was taking 15 new students every year but graduates were unable to find work because Lae’s Angau Hospital is the only one in the country providing radiation therapy for cancer.
He said when the university went out for selection for grade 12 students last year, none of the students applied for radio therapy because most of the students were aware it provides little job opportunity.
“It was really an uneconomically to change someone and not to find employment,” Renagi said.
He said the expansion of the radiation therapy to other province was expected and the university had the intention to graduate more students to go out to other centres and serve but the expansion was not made.
“No positions were made for graduates,” Renagi said.
He said they have stopped taking intakes because of the employment situation and students cannot be trained without job opportunities.
The Health Department have to expand its services to other centres so graduates can get employed.