UPNG

Former Miss PNG, Niawali Twain, issued this statement after receiving her UPNG degree on Friday.

From a mixed parentage of Manus and East New Britain, the beaming Niawali Twain gracefully walked up to get her degree from the UPNG chancellor in the first session of the 64^th graduation ceremony. 

The beauty queen was crowned Miss PNG in 2017, was the Queen Emma Chocolates Brand Ambassador and is the chaperone of the current Miss PNG and Miss Pacific Islands, Leoshina Kariha.

The academic staff admitted that they want to see change in UPNG, and thanked the Minister for his intervention.

While the staff welcomed Minister Pila Niningi’s efforts in establishing good governance within the university, they did not applaud his intention to retain the interim chancellor, Jeffrey Kennedy, who is a lawyer by profession.

Since this morning, academics, support staff and students gathered at the Drill Hall to await a response from the Prime Minister’s office regarding their grievances.

The National Academic Staff Association (NASA) requested the Prime Minister to intervene and immediately:

Deputy Opposition Leader Timothy Masiu has described the decision by Minister for High Education, Science & Technology, Pila Niningi, to suspend the University Council and the acting Vice Chancellor, as an act of sabotage at the country’s highest learning institution.

He said the country’s top cream of students enter UPNG as one of the highest learning institution of the land and their studies cannot be jeopardised by petty politics of individuals.

Fr Jan’s statement follows complaints by parents and guardians that students attending the University of Papua New Guinea were made to pay full fees before registering.

The parents were told that the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology has not deposited any funds into the UPNG accounts. Therefore, even though a student is on government scholarship, K16,492 has to be paid in full – K4,242 is compulsory as Admission while K12,250 for boarding and lodgment.

Many brought their disagreements to social media.

Parents and Guardians of students attending the University of Papua New Guinea on scholarships this academic year, have taken to social media their concerns regarding the hefty fees being imposed on them by the institution.

Parents whose children are on the TESAS scholarship stated that the fees are too much.

The UPNG fee structure is: K4242 is compulsory as Admission and K12,250 for boarding and lodgment.

Therefore, a student regardless of scholarships will be paying K16,492 for a year.

This was the point made by the new acting vice chancellor of the University of Papua New Guinea.

Professor Kenneth Sumbuk, in accepting his appointment as the acting vice chancellor of UPNG, issued the reminder that a university exists to provide quality graduates, stressing on the adjective ‘quality’.

“And that is something that many people within the sector and also stakeholders, government, parents, graduands, employers have been concerned about how the university has been travelling,” stated Sumbuk.

2016 student leader and human rights and anti-corruption advocate, Hercules Palme Jim, said the 5000-plus UPNG 2016 students experienced the worst ever police treatment, where they were shot at and hunted like animals at the UPNG Waigani campus.

The 25th celebration was held at the University of Papua New Guinea, by the Creative Arts and Journalism and Public Relations strands of the Melanesian Institute of Arts and Communication, to recognise the work of the media.

Indeed today is the day to recognise the work of journalists around the world, members of the press including their Editors, Public Relations practitioners as well as journalism students gathered in Port Moresby today to celebrate the occasion.

Each graduating student has his or her own story of inspiration.

Yesterday, a humble Papua New Guinean achieved his dream, 4 decades after leaving high school.

The sight of this middle-aged man, neatly dressed in the graduation colours and seated away from the rest of the graduands, raised curiosity.

Donald Yehilomo Lunen was among the handful of Professional Studies students graduating from the University of Papua New Guinea.