UPNG trying to salvage semester

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – The University of Papua New Guinea is trying to secure additional funding in order to reincorporate the suspended first semester into an extended academic year.

The University’s Public Affairs Manager, James Robins, said about $US 1.5 million was needed to stretch the academic year into November from its scheduled end date of October 15.

“To find that for another five weeks means we are going to be looking for another five or six million kina to accommodate the five thousand students and to do the extra time for the staff to effectively complete that semester one course,” Robins said.

“If we can find a mechanism to enable us to complete semester one we would probably roll automatically after the exams for semester one into semester two without a break.”

Robins said University administrators were in negotiations with the government for the extra funding.

“It’s a difficult one because as everybody knows the government is reducing budgets. So where we would get them to find the money for us to continue, I can’t comment on,” he said.

Robins said an extended academic year would need to begin about three weeks after Thursday’s initial 3pm deadline for student protesters to vacate the university. - RNZI