Posts

Showing posts from May, 2016

Mellam: Boycott Illegal

Image
UPNG Vice Chancellor Professor Albert Mellam addressing UPNG Medical students at Taurama Campus.   UPNG Vice Chancellor, Professor Albert Mellam has strongly advised students to return to classes tomorrow, Monday. Professor Mellam when addressing Medical students at Taurama campus on Friday reiterated that the boycott and forums are illegal as proper procedures where not followed. He said while the administration understands the rights of the students to exercise their civil rights on issues they feel strongly about, their purpose at the university must also be considered.   “The continuous boycott of classes by students is illegal. I say illegal because I draw that reference from the SRC constitution where the provisions that guides how boycott of classes are done. That’s the specific reference. The senate has looked at the boycott of classes; the senate has looked at the issues that you have raised,” He said. Professor Mellam explained that the academic s

Students desecrate Ghandi's bust

Image
 President Shri Pranab Mukherjee of India pays his respect to a bust of Mahatma Ghandi which was he unveiled during his visit to UPNG last month. Google pic             A bust of Mahatma Ghandi, a symbol of Indian non-violent civil disobedience and peaceful protest, at the University of Papua New Guinea was this week desecrated by some students. Vice Chancellor Professor Albert Mellam has expressed regret upon hearing that the recently unveiled bust by the Indian President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, has been removed by some students. “It is extremely regrettable because than you cross the PNG boundary and now removing a world leader. Nations and communities revered for what he stood for and this action sends a very bad message about UPNG as a university and of course our students.   I do not want to think about the consequences but people will not forget this type of action,” He said. An unimpressed Mellam conveyed his apologies to the Indian gove

UPNG students threaten quit School

Image
University of Papua New Guinea students have threatened to withdraw en masse if the UPNG Senate decides to cancel first semester or the academic year. The students who were warned by the senate through a circular released last week that if the boycott continues through to Friday 13 th May 2016, the school year will be affected. However, students have maintained a strong stance to continue boycotting classes through to next week. The students threatened at an open Forum at Waigani campus that if the UPNG senate decides to end the first semester, they will call for a mess withdrawal under the condition that the school must: 1.      Refund their tuition fees 2.      Pay for their air fares & 3.      Other allowances that they as students are entitled to such as allowances. Despite the Senate Decision that the student boycott is illegal, Student Representative Council through a media release on Tuesday disagreed on the senate resolution by stating that prope

Irate students burn newspapers

Image
Sunday 8th may, 2016                 University of Papua New Guinea students burnt The National Newspapers and Post Couriers on Friday morning after they assumed the papers to be biased in their stories on what actually was happening at Waigani campus. The students who have boycotted classes since Monday are demanding the Prime Minister, Peter O’Neil to step aside and submit himself for questioning and for Police Commissioner Gari Baki to reinstate Fraud Squad Director Matthew Damaru and re-open the Fraud squad office as per the court’s direction. The student representative council who had on Monday and Tuesday put a ban on media to not enter the campus had uplifted the ban on Wednesday last week. According to President Kenneth Ropa, the media is an important partner in the student’s cause and had called the media to come into campus. The students who did not want to be named said they were on their way to the bus stop to do public awareness about t

Universities unite on petition

Image
Sunday, 8th May , 2016               University of Technology has joined forces with the University of Papua New Guinea to boycott classes come next week. UOT who completed its referendum saw 2059 students voted “YES” for a boycott and 296 students voted “NO” for a boycott according to results. Unitech President David Kelma who flew into Port Moresby on Wednesday with his SRC members to visit UPNG said the continuation of ignorance to the system and the laws of this country by bureaucrats have caused students to sacrifice their studies to secure their future. “We are the future leaders, the future bureaucrats, the future brains who are going to lead this country forward. Unitech is organised and we are behind the University of Papua New Guinea.   But Unitech and UPNG and UPNG alone cannot do it alone and we need the support of everyone. All the universities must come in, all civil societies must come in, all the organisations and citizens of this country

Students to continue boycott: SRC

Image
Sunday May 8th, 2016   University of Papua New Guinea students on Friday opened all the doors to their main lecture rooms and school offices. The students since Monday have sat around the forum square area refusing to go to class. Main buildings such as Kuri Dom Main Lecture Theatre, Science Lecture Theatre, Uli Bier Arts centre and the likes were locked with chains and blocked with drums and branches of trees to prevent students from attending classes. University of Papua New Guinea Vice Chancellor, Professor Mellam in a memo sent all the lecturers back home around 9am after learning of the situation on Monday. However, continuous consultation with the Student Representative Council and the University Senate has resulted in doors of main lecture rooms being opened. In a letter dated 5 th May 2016 (Thursday) from the office of the vice chancellor requested the SRC President, Kenneth Rapa to urge all students to return to class. The letter stated SRC had