Unitech to restart lectures

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – The Papua New Guinea University of Technology in Lae will push on with the academic year, despite months of student protests and ethnic clashes.

In a statement, the Lae-based university says its council had unanimously resolved to salvage the year, with a tentative date of August 29 for classes to resume.

Unitech closed its gates last month after a student was killed in clashes, which also saw the dining room and other buildings burned to the ground.

Up until then, students had been boycotting classes for two months to protest Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s refusal to stand down to face corruption allegations.

Despite this, the university said after careful deliberation, it would try and resume the academic year and address a number of issues.

These include the construction of a temporary cafeteria, reconciliation between warring groups, counselling for students and staff, and the restoration of order.

It said its campus had sustained more than US$12 million damage, and it would make a special submission for government assistance so it can stay within budget.

It is not clear whether the resumption of classes at Unitech will bring back all the students, as the governments of both Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have opted to withdraw their students from PNG’s universities over the tensions.

The University of Papua New Guinea in the capital, Port Moresby, earlier this month opted to cancel the academic year with protests there reaching a violent peak when police opened fire on students who were trying to march on parliament in support of a motion of no confidence against the prime minister.

The university remains closed. - PNC