New technical college set to enrol students

By PETER WARI
THE newly-established Southern Highlands Technical College in the Nipa-Kutubu district is looking forward to enrolling students this year for information technology, business management, tourism and hospitality and motor vehicle technology trades.
Its successful operation at the start of last year was hampered by the February 26 earthquake.
Principal Don Waniel said it was prepared for challenges and despite many of its infrastructure damaged by the earthquake, students’ future was of importance.
The infrastructures would be slowly rebuilt, he said.
Waniel said only a few made it to tertiary institutions and the college had heart for many of the dropouts and it was considering to enrol previous grade 12 school leavers – those from 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“Governor William Powi funded K1.5 million while Nipa-Kutubu MP Jeffery Komal funded K3.5 million, to build infrastructures,” he said.
“The school is the brainchild of Powi and by next year he hopes to convert it into a National Poly Technical Institute. More developments will take place before 2020,” he said.
Waniel said the school was built on 18.4 hectares of land belonging to Wol-Tesda, a tribe in Kware village and Kuntal and Pesal tribe in the Tal-Pulim village. The area has been a battlefield after missionaries stepped in and changed attitudes.
Waniel said the land was seen currently by the local people as a donation to the church in return for a peace process in the area and also it was an offer made to God and that they had no intention of taking it back.