Uni rearranges semesters

By PHOEBE GWANGILO
THE University of Papua New Guinea is rearranging its two semesters this year and the two next year to start next month and end in November 2017.
UPNG Chancellor Dr Nicholas Mann said the plan was to have one semester this year and three next year.
He said the calendars for the different semesters would be worked out.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Albert Mellam said considering the credibility, standard governance and standard quality of the programmes, the university looked at the timeline and decided to front-load 2017 because 2016 academic year had gone.
“So it will be the normal calendar except for semester one (this year starting September) will be back-tracked about five weeks. So it will be five, six weeks in 73 weeks,” he said.
The second semester of 2016 will start in January next year and end around March when the 2017 academic year begins.
“So there would be a space in between where staff take their leave,” he said.
“Students have got to make some sacrifices and they will start early (January) in 2017 and finish the second semester in March. That’s where our normal annual calendar starts.”
Mellam said graduation was on schedule and staff would take their break during the usual time in December.
“The termination of the academic year does not mean the students were terminated,” he said.
“No student was terminated. So those registered students that are eligible to come back would re-enrol.”
He said students would revise their work then continue from where they left off.
Meanwhile, the University of Goroka is into its second week of semester two.