Commentary by Dr Orovu Sepoe in Canberra
MINISTER for Higher Education, David Arore’s public statement on establishing an Open University flies in the face of some sound recommendations made by the “PNG Universities Review” done by Professor Ross Garnaut and Sir Rabbie Namaliu in 2011.
I have purposely selected the following two extracts from the Executive Summary of the Review report to argue that the conditions in PNG’s higher education sector at present are not suitable to warrant establishing an Open University.
Page 1 of the Review states; “Expansion of universities is desirable, since Papua New Guinea is desperately short of skills for development but poor quality expansion is unaffordable.
Rehabilitating, or replacing, run-down existing assets, and restoration of quality, should precede any investment in expansion.”
Page 4 of the Review states:
“It is not desirable in the period of recovery of quality to create any separate institutions for distance learning. The decision of the Papua New Guinea Government to create an Open University should not be implemented for the time being.”
“It is not desirable in the period of recovery of quality to create any separate institutions for distance learning. The decision of the Papua New Guinea Government to create an Open University should not be implemented for the time being.”
I support this advice.
The idea of establishing a national Open University is downright fanciful and simply ignorant of the debilitating state of affairs in most institutions of higher education in PNG. Before even contemplating the establishment of a national Open University, has the Minister taken the time to visit, in particular all government funded Universities and get some firsthand insight and information about their situations, with regard to infrastructure, delivery of services in research and teaching, governance and management? Has the Minister consulted with students, the University Councils and the respective University managements to establish some concrete facts about the prevailing situations regarding learning and research, or to understand their needs and priorities?
The idea of establishing a national Open University is downright fanciful and simply ignorant of the debilitating state of affairs in most institutions of higher education in PNG. Before even contemplating the establishment of a national Open University, has the Minister taken the time to visit, in particular all government funded Universities and get some firsthand insight and information about their situations, with regard to infrastructure, delivery of services in research and teaching, governance and management? Has the Minister consulted with students, the University Councils and the respective University managements to establish some concrete facts about the prevailing situations regarding learning and research, or to understand their needs and priorities?
The Government of PNG should be more concerned with lifting standards before considering expanding opportunities for higher education. Quality before quantity should be the rule of thumb for higher education reforms, at least in the foreseeable future.
The bulk of school leavers will eventually end up living in rural areas. Hence, PNG should invest more in technical and vocational schools to absorb students leaving studies at Grade 10 and 12 levels, with a view to facilitating improvement in rural livelihoods. Education for rural development and poverty alleviation is what PNG needs most.
Minister Arore should therefore concentrate his efforts in ensuring that all existing Universities are running effectively and efficiently, with the government ensuring adequate resources for improving learning and research facilities, improving staff remuneration etc.
*Dr Orovu Sepoe is a lecturer in Political Science from the University of Papua New Guinea
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