Lutheran institute receives accreditation from department

AFTER five years of waiting, the Lutheran Institute of Higher Learning in Lae, Morobe, has received its certificate of accreditation from the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST).
“We have been trying to combine three church institutions to create one united university; the Martin Luther Seminary, the Balob Teachers College and the Lutheran School of Nursing,” the institute’s board chairman Dr Eric Kwa said.
The Lutheran Institute of Higher Learning council had been in talks with DHERST since 2016, with the purpose of having the institute’s accreditation approved – which was done last year.
Speaking on behalf of the council, Kwa explained that they were initially turned down by DHERST because they did not have a lot of programmes or the capacity to give out diplomas and because they were not recognised by the Government.
“We were told that until the school works with DHERST to raise awareness of the school, programmes, faculty and policies of the school, they were not able to provide us with the certificate,” he said.