University calls on provinces to help distance learning

By PHOEBE GWANGILO
The University of Goroka is calling on provincial governments to support its external mode programmes.
Vice-chancellor Prof Musawe Sinebare and pro-chancellor Dr Julian Kaman made this call last week following the signing of an agreement to establish a distance learning centre of the university at the Waigni Christian College in Port Moresby.
“Studying through external mode is very challenging and 80 per cent of the students tend to not complete their studies,” Kaman said.
“We are appealing to the governors in Southern (region) to support this because through that support many students would have access to tertiary education,” Sinebare said.
He said UOG offered matriculation, Bachelor in Education – School Management, Diploma in Education for degree holders of other disciplines, Diploma in Early Childhood, Diploma in Tourism, and Masters in Business Administration programmes through the distance mode.
“We are bringing our regional centre of Southern region of Papua New Guinea to be based here to reach the Southern region.
“University of Goroka is here because we believe that some of our programmes can best be offered here.
“We believe that instead of the people going into towns and cities where there are gowns, we are now bringing the gowns to where the people are in the towns.
“We have established the Highlands campus which is up in Mt Hagen. It is heavily subsidised and supported by the Western
Highlands provincial government.
“We have a campus in Honiara, Solomon Islands, which is heavily supported by the Solomon Islands government.”
“Now we are bringing our regional centre for Southern region to be based here at Waigani Christian College, therefore we are appealing to the governors in Southern to support this,” Sinebare said.