The headache of student selections

ADVERTISEMENTS by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology and the University of PNG on the grade 12 school leaver online selection is sure to affect the current grade 12 school leavers who had chosen to enrol at the University of Papua New Guinea next year.
Although, UPNG has raised issues of importance, other universities and colleges have remained silent over the issue.
Universities and colleges have established rules and regulations that protect and guide the establishment and operations of the institutions, nevertheless individuals mandated to implement the laws or regulations guiding school leaver selection had used the laws and rights as a shield to abuse and hijack the process.
On the contrary, it seemed there is no authority beyond the universities and colleges to instigate investigation into the abuse of the school leaver selection process for three decades.
Until 2017, it was through Pila Niningi’s ministry, through the DHERST
The grade 12 school leaver National Online Application System was introduced to weed out corruption and bias in higher learning intuitions.
This has been a reality in the past decades where 35 per cent of school leavers entering universities and colleges went through the corrupt system while thousands of genuine school leavers battle it out for the remaining 65 per cent.
Corruption in the school leaver selection process does not only exist in universities and colleges but are also prevalent in society today.
The introduction of the online selection system has created an equal playing field for both the school leavers coming from a well-off family against a village boy coming from a subsistence family background to contest fairly for the limited spaces without outside influence.
DHERST’s intention and intervention to review some of the existing laws and regulations guiding or protecting the school leaver selection process is commendable.I suggest for the online system to be managed by DHERST while at the same time allowing the universities to provide their specific requirements.

Kogali Woluhali