VC: Teaching practice still on

TEACHING practice is a compulsory requirement in the academic calendar as Papua New Guinea’s main teaching university, the University of Goroka (UOG), aims to produce quality graduates, vice chancellor Prof Musawe Sinebare says.
“Teaching practices for this year will continue as scheduled for final year students, all students due to go for teaching practice will be deployed to schools identified,” he said.
Prof Sinebare said this on Sunday in response to comments in the media by Eastern Highlands student leader Norman Kassa on Friday that students had petitioned the university’s administration for its failure to facilitate teaching practice for final year students.
“As the Post Courier article stated, if there were any petition I, as the vice chancellor, am yet to receive it,” he said.
“I was only informed by an announcer with the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), I did not receive any such petition on Friday.” He said teaching practice would run as planned and students would be deployed and UOG staff were finalising arrangements.
“The arrangements have their glitches mostly due to relevant information not being made available, for example confirmation of students and staff placement,” he said.
“We had problem before but we have always delivered teaching practice every year. We will overcome such hurdles.”
Prof Sinebare said UOG had a mandate to produce quality teachers for PNG schools and 60 credit points of the final year student’s assessments came from the teaching practice component.