Teachers Colleges

BESIDE the six teachers’ colleges exposed by the education officers recently, there are few more teachers colleges in the same category but were never exposed for reasons only known to authorities.
Many are operating in the country are more akin to operating a liquor shop in settlements with no legitimate liquor trading license obtained from the PNG Liquor Licensing Commission.
The operators must be arrested immediately if the Education department and the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST) have laws governing the protection of the integrity of public institutions being abused by people with ulterior motives.
Accreditation is the only process that colleges and universities would undergo in order to build a valid, credible reputation among other tertiary institutions, students, parents and the public.
Accredited institutions are held to strict standards and must maintain those standards.
It’s a form of peer evaluation, intended to ensure that higher education diplomas/degrees are of high quality and that institutions produce graduates who have been well trained.
It also ensures to protecting the public from fraudulent diploma mills at a very high cost.
The accreditation process is simple, a new higher learning institution shall make an application to the Education Department or DHEST using a prescribed form ahead of registration or approval.
Without having to go through the correct procedures, it would be seen to be in breach of the standard operational procedures established bylaws.
In my opinion, Government regulations are not sufficient to deal with the sudden growth of the private sector, leading to many bad actors seeking to capitalise on the eagerness of prospective students to earn a certificate or diploma and deliver poor quality of learning experiences with worthless credentials.

Ken Nandawa
Bush Education Advisor