Students from teachers colleges refused certificates due to low grades

SOME students who graduated from teachers training institutions in 2019 have been refused diploma certificates because they had cheated to get better grade point average (GPA), says Education Secretary Dr Uke Kombra.
He said they would not receive certificates because they failed to meet the requirements to qualify as teachers.
As of last week, the department approved 153 out of the 609 graduates to receive their certificates.
“And when they get their certificates, they will also get their teacher registrations,” he said.
He said it included 70 from the Madang Teachers College, 68 from the Balob Teachers College and 15 from the Dauli Teachers College.
He blamed college principals and the school administration for the flaw and the department is dealing with those principals.
Dr Kombra said students with low marks would not be given certificates nor teacher registration.
Those below the GPA of 1.8 included 17 from the Madang Teachers College, four from the Scared Heart Teachers College, 42 from the Balob Teachers College, four from the Enga Teachers College and 66 from the Chimbu Teachers College.
“A total of 133 were enrolled from outside the process but did not also meet the minimum GPA of 1.8. We have refused them certificates and teacher registrations,” he said.
Dr Kombra said the 133 students could to go back to Fode to upgrade their Grade 11 and Grade 12 marks.
“We have given them two years to go back to Fode and upgrade their qualifications to achieve a GPA of 2.4 and above,” he said.
“Then we will accept them.
“We have also found that 179 graduates did not provide any documents at all for us to assess.
“They will not graduate.”