**** Government To Work With Universities To Lift Standards **** Prime Minister Hon. Peter O’Neill announced today that the Government will work with state-owned universities in the country to improve academic and capacity issues that have led to standards declining in some institutions. The Prime Minister made the announcement after considering the findings of an external audit of the University of Papua New Guinea that identified deficiencies in the academic and teaching capacities. “The findings of the external audit are a wake-up call for educational institutions,” Prime Minister Hon. Peter O’Neill said. “We are concerned that a similar situation exists in other state-owned universities in the country and further investigations will be undertaken. “Our university students are our future engineers, doctors, teachers and leaders. We must intervene otherwise the nation will face serious consequences in the future.” The Prime Minister has written to the Minister for Higher Education, Research and Science, Malakai Tabar, to begin negotiations with universities to develop initiatives aimed at reversing the decline. “The government will act to raise standards now and enhance the ability of the university to produce quality graduates for the country and its growing economy.” In his letter, the Prime Minister has directed Minister Tabar to work with the universities to: - Design a capacity building program for all National Academic Staff which should include further studies in their respective fields, and secondments to overseas universities that will be funded by the National Government; - Design an international academia program, whereby universities recruit quality lecturers from overseas to teach at the universities while national staff are undergoing training abroad; - Review the dual salary policy used by universities with a view to establishing a single salary policy based on academic standard and qualification. Minister Tabar is expected to develop with a policy initiative by November 2014 for the National Executive Council to consider.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 23:14:45 +0000