The violence now experienced in State-run universities is because students lack the sense of nationalism says Government Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari.
His comments followed a previous meeting with vice-chancellors from the University of Goroka, University of Technology and the University of Papua New Guinea.
For close to two months students have boycotted classes, calling on Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to step down, which have now turned into violence, resulting with students fighting and destruction of properties in respective universities.
One student was killed over the weekend at the Unitech campus in Lae, Morobe Province.
“The sense of nationalism is no longer in any of our (higher) learning institutions because of the way we have structured our education system in the country,” Lupari said.
He said 20 years ago only five percent of year 10 students get selected to attend National High Schools and they build a sense of nationalism there before entering universities.
Lupari said: “From the studies undertaken by the secretaries of education and higher education, I t shows that, there are many students buying their way into universities.
“There are not necessarily the smartest people, these are (people who) use money and other (illegal) means to get themselves into universities.”