PORT MORESBY, THURSDAY 18th JULY 2019 --- On his recent visit to Mt Hagen Technical College, Minister for National Planning, Hon Richard Maru, was shocked to learn that the college has the capacity for 1,000 students each year, however it only enrolls between 500-600 students because of lack of teachers due to limited staff housing and serious water issues. As a former student of the college, Minister Maru, said while the Government is doing its best to find ways to increase the training and skilling of its citizens, this is one college that has the capacity but the government is oblivious to its need for more staff housing. He asked the School Council to advise him on the college’s necessities and he will work together with the Minister for Higher Education to ensure Government attends to the college’s needs and see an increase in student enrolments from next year. Minister Maru reiterated that the situation in the country is serious as each year, 30,000 students finish Grade 12. 6,000 of those get into Universities, technical colleges, teachers’ colleges and nursing colleges. The remaining 23-24,000 students do not have a place in the education system because of lack of capacity. “So as a responsible Government, we acknowledge that many of our young people have natural talents to become motor mechanics, builders, and wielders, but we don’t have the capacity to train and skill them. At the same time, with the huge resource projects that are underway, many foreigners were employed in technical trade areas because our country simply did not have enough trained and skilled technical people. This is unacceptable. At the height of the first LNG Project, 18,000 trades people from other countries were brought in to work. No responsible Government will allow this to continue. As part of our ‘Taking Back PNG’, we will immediately attend to the needs of the Mt Hagen Technical College to ensure they enrol up to 1,000 students from next year,” Minister Maru said. He explained that the Marape-Davis Government will start a deliberate program to help progress existing technical colleges by funding them to build more student accommodation, and boost capacity for more programs, not only the basic certificate program but to have in-service programs to bring those students back to do their diploma in our technical education system. “I am happy to inform you that your aim to offer diploma programs is certainly the way to go. We must not only educate Papua New Guineans to work in PNG because we have limited opportunities, we must build institutions that can give world class academic and skills training in technical education so that the students can also work in other parts of the world. Many Papua New Guineans work in mines overseas and that only proves that our technical students are just as good and just as capable. I can assure you that funding will be allocated specifically for this college and other technical colleges in the next National Budget based on the plans that the college has indicated in its strategic plan. We will work with you to deliver these. These will be a national program. Over the next 3 years, we expect to reach the whole country,” Minister Maru said. Statement/pngfacts Next : PNG Police Minister Kramer Investigated For Cyber Bullying Comments are closed.
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