Private institutions given 3 months to be recognised

PRIVATE tertiary institutions not operating under the Higher Education Act will be given three months to apply to be recognised.
“All private institutions must operate within the legal frame, failure to do so will see them fined K250,000 under the Higher Education Act and asked to stop operating,” Higher Education Secretary Fr Jan Czuba said.
He said Minister Pila Niningi prepared letters which would be given to all private institutions to apply.
Fr Czuba said he and Niningi had advised an Australian university offering their programmes through agents in PNG to take necessary steps required by the PNG Constitution.
“We should be governing our country and the higher education sector within the legal framework of the Act,” he said.
“If individuals want to start private institutions to operate outside the Act, legally it is wrong and morally it is wrong.
“The minister mentioned it and it’s very important. Our qualification, our academic work should be equal to other universities and that’s his vision
“So it means that he wants to raise the standard of the quality of education. If you have an institution which is not meeting our standard, operating in the grey area, which is outside the legal framework, that will compromise the integrity of the minister of higher education, integrity of the higher education sector and devalue totally the academic awards,” Czuba said.