Academia Nomad

This is an edited version of LIane Munau’s experience as the lone female candidate contesting the Bougainville Regional vacant seat in 2021. This is part one of two parts series where Llane talks about Bougainville women asking why their votes for Llane did not show on the tally when counting started.

The Bougainville Regional seat, which represents the people of Bougainville in the PNG parliament was left vacant when the incumbent resigned to contest the Bougainville presidential election in 2019. For those not familiar with the current Bougainville political arrangement, Bougainville has been an autonomous region since 2001. It is referred to as the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, with an House of Representatives led by a president. But it also has representatives in the PNG parliament who represent Bougainville just like any other province in PNG. The representatives in the PNG parliament include Open MPs representing the Open Electorates or districts in Bougainville whilst the Regional MP or Governor represents Bougainville as a whole. Llane contested the governor’s seat in January 2021.

By way of context, since 1975, no women in Bougainville has been elected to PNG parliament. Llane was seeking to become the first woman from Bougainville to win a seat in the PNG parliament. A seat in PNG parliament at this point in time is very crucial, not least being that the PNG Parliament has the final say in whether or not Bougainville becomes independent. In 2019, Bougainvilleans voted 98% in favour of independence from PNG. But the final decision on their political status resides with the 111 MPs in PNG parliament. One of Llane’s five policy platforms was to seek PNG government for a fixed date for independence for Bougainville.

Below are Llane’s experience in her own words…

“The couple of weeks have been a very interesting journey for me as a sole female candidate in the Bougainville Regional Seat By-Election. As I haven’t posted on FB about my journey, but now I feel I owe it to my voters, friends, supporters and family, plus anyone else who wants to know how the elections from campaigning, to polling, and counting went for me.

In one word AWESOME!; until Monday when I started getting calls from women groups around the island asking me; ‘ol vote blong mipla go we?’ (Where are our votes?). And there was also the question, ‘Why na ol meri Bougainville no voteim displa wanpla meri candidate tasol? (Why didn’t the women of Bougainville vote for this sole female candidate?)

The answer is: the majority of females who voted did vote for me. Not because I was the only female candidate, but because they agreed with my five policy platforms.”

“Now, the big question is, where are the votes and why aren’t they showing on the tally board? In Siwai a group of more than 60 women hired a truck by themselves and went to a particular polling venue and cast their votes for me (Box 14); as they said, ‘it’s time they all vote for a female.’ But when the tally came out I only got 14 votes from the whole constituency. Where are these womens votes? Women do not lie about their votes, especially mothers from women fellowship groups.

In Taonita Teop and Taonita Tinputz it was the same. I didn’t mind until women called me up, or stopped our vehicle on the road to ask me, ‘ol vote blong mipla go we?’ ‘Mipla lotu group mama wantaim ol pikinini na man blong mipla go voteim yu.’ Then came the church youth groups, asking the same question, and the ex-combatants. I didn’t know how I could answer them because their votes never showed on the tally. I knew I had done a very good campaign in the Tinputz areas, and the places I couldn’t reach, the women, church groups and ex-combatants in the areas did very good campaigns there. However their votes never showed; plus the votes of my 300+ family in Tinputz. The tally showed that I got little to no votes from there as it seemed the two constituencies block voted for only one candidate.

Then I started to look at how the votes were tallied in each Region. In Central, when it came to boxes 75 – 130, where South and North Nasioi areas are in (where I come from), the PNGEC & OBEC (Office of Bougainville Electrol Commission) staff coordinating the counting stopped doing a call out for our scrutineers to know how much votes each candidate got in an area. Then the PNGEC & OBEC staff just closed the counting, packed all the ballot boxes without letting our scrutineers know the final results, and when the scrutineers enquired they gave excuses like: “there’s no pen marker to write the tally on the yellow canvas or, there’s no printer and ink etc…”

So we followed them to the OBEC office only to be met with more excuses. So from 2:30pm to 9:00pm we stood (in very heavy rain) there at the OBEC office waiting for some answers. They put out the yellow canvas in front of the OBEC office and started jotting numbers down, then in the night they gave us a print out, which to our surprise, one of our candidates numbers exceeded all to 13 thousand plus votes from just 55 ballot boxes, whilst the rest were two thousand less. I collected 1000+ votes from box 1 – 74, which are boxes not from my areas, but when it came to my home turf, I don’t know how the votes went because we candidates just got a print out telling us how many votes we got from Central votes. And now my family, friends and supporters are asking ‘Ol vote blong mipla go we?’

From South, my village in Nagovis there are less than 700 people. Voters would be 250 or less, but to my surprise, 1000+ votes came out from our box, and I got votes, but one particular candidate got 500+ votes from that box. I know it was one day polling and half the people didn’t vote; So What’s happening???? Where are these votes coming from?

Now it has dawned on me. These are the same questions supporters of candidates in the last Autonomous Bougainville Government election were asking; ‘OL VOTE BLONG MIPLA GO WE?’ Candidates they voted for especially in the Presidential and some special seats did not collect a single vote in their supporters areas. Many people in some of these areas have shared their sentiments and I begin to wonder, ‘Is our electrol process transparent? Have peoples votes been tampered with? Are our elected leaders voted into power in a clean way? Well I’m not a judge, but I am a journalist and an excellent researcher. I work with evidence and data, and from what I’ve collected, there is something very fishy going on.

Remember, Bougainville is a small island and we have family and friends everywhere, and for them to come show me their painted fingers and tell me straight to my face that they voted for me but I got no votes from their particular boxes, especially in the West Coast areas, I ask again, ‘What is happening. Where are these peoples votes??????’
Well all in all, people must know that majority of women in Bougainville did vote for me but where are their votes? Though it was one day polling and not many people voted, reports from presiding officers said, nearly all polling booths from North to South, more women went to vote than man. Now my question lies, ‘where are our votes?’ Women fellowship groups, of all denominations will not lie.

I’m writing this piece plus more to come because I know next year we will have another PNG National Election and I don’t ever want to hear voters asking the question ‘OL VOTE BLONG MIPLA GO WE?’ and to prepare those who will be stand to be cautious and protect your votes. I over trusted the system and the system has failed my mothers, sisters and supporters. But I have also trusted God wholly and His Word says, ‘…Whatever is hidden will be shouted on the roof tops.’ And the shouting has just began.

THE END!

More to come, data to be published. ‘OUR TIME IS NOW!’ Esther 4:14.”

Note: this article represents the view of Llane Munau. It’s not objective. That should be kept in perspective. Nevertheless, if these claims are true it is a serious cause for concern. If almost 100% of the votes for the referendum was counted, why is it that elections should have missing votes?

Academia Nomad is republished Llane’s story with her permission. Part 2 will be published later.

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“The greater evil is not that we are losing the best population of this generation: 27, 000 or so each year. But maintaining the status quo when we can do something about it now so the next 27, 000 don’t miss out…” Academia Nomad

There has been so much said about the 27, 000 students missing out of selection to PNG tertiary institutions. Views vary: some blame students for not investing time in their studies (so called boom-box generation), others blame COVID-19 and related disruptions, whilst others make the case for students who meet the GPA (grade point average) or entry requirements but still miss out on selection. Views of the last group, who argue for students missing out despite meeting the GPA should trouble the nation. As argued earlier in Academia Nomad’s article “Exclusive Club with low quality: trends in PNG tertiary institutions”, the first two arguments don’t hold water. You can only blame the boom-box generation after all the students have been selected and there’s still spaces available but no one is qualified to be selected. At the moment, masses of students miss out even when they qualify. Second, the problem of qualified students missing out on selection predates COVID-19, so you cannot blame COVID-19. Students have been missing out before COVID-19, and they will continue to miss out after COVID-19 is gone, unless the capacity of universities and colleges are increased. 

To solve the 27, 000 problem is not easy and can’t be done overnight. It will need massive investment in infrastructure, ICT, improvements in staffing conditions etc. Basically, the PNG tertiary sector’s capacity needs to be increased three times. Currently it takes in 9, 000. To take in the 27, 000 (27, 000/9 = 3), it needs three times more than the current capacity. 

Alternatively, PNG institutions can take the courses online, and increase satellite institutions or Open Campuses. PNG is entering a stage where these two initiatives are not only preferable, but imminent. It has to begin now, so the next 27, 000 students don’t miss out next year. And these two proposals  are relatively cheaper than building another university.

Open Campuses 

Open Campuses are small branches of universities established in the provinces with limited capacities.  They provide preliminary courses/subjects, and act as a pathway into universities. The conditions and efficiencies of these campuses are not known, but the general perception is that they are redundant, or ineffective, understaffed, under resourced, and don’t always deliver their promise as pathways to universities. 

This doesn’t mean the Open Campuses are therefore a failed concept. Those in cities, such as UPNG’s NCD Open Campus opposite the main UPNG Campus operates relatively well, giving many students access to UPNG main campus. Students can even attain a Diploma in Accounting just by attending Open Campus which is the equivalent to two years studies at the main campus. They have the choice to either continue studies as third year students at the main campus or graduate and go out and work. Divine Word has similar campuses, with the one in Port Moresby offering advanced subjects as well. Unitech offers DODL, but it’s more like code/FODE.

PNG tertiary institutions can assess what is working for their Open Campuses in the main Centre’s and duplicate them in the provinces. Offer good salaries, employment conditions, and improve the infrastructure for Open Campuses at the provincial level. The National Government should make this it’s priority. Students can complete Diplomas in their provinces. A lot more students would opt for this arrangement as boarding and lodging fees at the universities and colleges are very expensive. Also, this will open the door for public servants in the provinces to upgrade their skills. They don’t have to resign from their jobs to pursue studies in Port Moresby, Lae, Madang or Goroka. More importantly, it will account for the majority of the 27, 000 students missing out on selection.

I’m not a fan of the government loan: HELP. But to make any meaning out of HELP, education must be made available to the masses – the ‘extra’ 27, 000 students. Otherwise, the government is spending massive taxpayers money on very few privileged groups.

Online Learning 

The Open Campus concept can be complemented by either blended learning or full online learning. Online learning is basically education that takes place over the Internet. It is often referred to as “e- learning” among other terms. However, online learning is just one type of “distance learning” – the umbrella term for any learning that takes place across distance and not in a traditional classroom.

The so-called “boom-box generation” is also the most internet savvy generation this country has ever had. Great nations don’t always have the most resources, or the best circumstances, or luck. They look at their limitations and make very strategic choices. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan etc., don’t have gold and copper and silver. They’re not islands of gold floating on sea of oil, the overused term that is associated with PNG. These are countries full of limitations. You can go back to 1945 – 1953 and South Korea was probably in a more dire situation than PNG. The WWII and the Korean War devastated almost every infrastructure, nascent industries, demoralized the population, and left massive dead bodies. And they built it up from scratch. PNG has to look at its circumstances, and use it to its advantage. If the kids are hooked to their phones, bring education to their phones.

The Coral Sea Cable, a 4700 km  underwater internet cable linking Sydney to Port Moresby will drastically increase the internet connectivity and speed in PNG. Now is the time to take education online. 

This is where we are: 27, 000 students missing out on selection; very expensive boarding and lodging fees; an internet savvy population who are stuck to their phones. Let’s change the way we do education. We can do that by going online, improving access by establishing more and better open campuses, and offering Certificates and Diplomas online or at the open campuses.

Not everyone wants a degree. Some just need an introduction into the main theories and current practices in the fields they are interested in. Some just want to learn the basics. For these people, offer diplomas and certificates online as well as at the open campuses. With the internet age, they’ll take it from there and become self-taught experts. Keep the degrees and MAs and PhDs at the universities for those who want to pursue them, and those who could afford them or have the temperament to get HELP loans and repay them forever.

My appeal to the Prime Minister, Minister for Education and Ministry for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology:

Sirs, we are losing the best population of this generation: 27, 000 each year. The greater evil is not that they are missing out, but the fact that they don’t have to miss out if we act now. Decentralize education. Take it online, and take it to the people in the provinces. For a time such as this were you put in such high places, make it count.

Academia Nomad has published several articles related to this topic. To read previous article check the links below:

1. Exclusive Club but low quality: trends in PNG tertiary education sector 
2. Not selected? Four ways to pursue studies in PNG 

God bless you all and take care…

I want to personally thank all of you who have subscribed, follow, comment and like Academia Nomad blog posts. This is the time of the year when people make resolutions for the next 365 days. I wanted to share with you a TED Talk video that may help you with your goals for 2021. This video has 9 million views on YouTube. Enjoy.

Click on YouTube link below:

It was challenging but we made it through. Take care you all. God bless.

PNG’s tertiary institutions are becoming an exclusive club of the few, as the rest are pushed out of the system. However, with a dropping quality, the qualification will not mean much if there’s no investment. It’s the same as placing a limit (quota) on imported goods. Prices of products go up not because of the quality of the products, but because of the limited quantity or supply.

Limited supply of any product, be it apples or degrees drives up demand for the product. Even if the quality is poor. On the other hand, if supply increases, the only way a product stands out of the competition is for the producers to innovate to improve the quality of the product.

How is this relevant to higher education in PNG? Over the years, more and more students have been pushed out of the formal education system, especially the higher education sector. But the government fails to invest in higher education. If this trend continues, in the long run, the value of university degrees and certificates will be based on the fact that there are few degree holders in the market, and not because the degree holders possess superior skills than others. This is the path that selection to PNG universities and other tertiary institutions are taking.

For the 2021 academic year, only 9, 000 grade 12 students out of the 27, 000 were selected. Though Higher Education Secretary Jan Czuba blames those on COVID-19, this blame is clearly misplaced for two reasons: first, the high number of students missing out on selection is a recurring problem. Back in 2015, only 4, 700 students were selected out of the 23, 000. Things somewhat improved and in 2019 about 8, 597 students were selected whilst the rest missed out. Large number of students missing out on selection is a trend in PNG, so blaming COVID-19 diverts attention from the main problem in the tertiary institutions of PNG.

Second, many students didn’t get selected despite meeting the GPA this year. For instance, to study law at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG), the only law school in PNG, students need a GPA of 3.0. But because the school has only 120 spaces available, hundreds of students miss out on selection with a GPA of 3.0. For Political Science at UPNG, students with GPA of 3.8 missed out even though the actual GPA is 2.7. There are only 30 spaces. Selection begins with students with GPA of 4.0, and the quota is usually full before the advertised GPA is reached. A substantial number of students missed out due to the quota system in universities and colleges. The students worked hard despite havoc caused by COVID-19 and still missed out. That’s a big let down.

Others on social media are blaming poor student attitudes towards studies as a result of poor performance and low selection. This is true to some extent. However, many students missed out on selection despite meeting the GPA because the tertiary institutions do not have the capacity to take them in. The poor performance by students should be a subject of debate only after every eligible student was selected, and extra space left. But if our tertiary institutions do not have the capacity to accommodate students who meet the required GPA, placing blame on students is also another misplaced blame.

Now that’s for those kids who missed out on selection. What about the 9, 000 who were selected?

With deteriorating infrastructure and lack of investment in higher education, the quality of education in PNG is not getting any better. In fact, the top three universities in PNG (UPNG, Unitech, and DWU) are ranked 5, 047; 5, 732; and 11, 194 respectively in world university ranking. University of South Pacific in Fiji is 5, 000 places higher than DWU on 1, 575, whilst Australian National University ranks 24th in the world, as the best in the region. Our universities rank very low, our infrastructure is poor, which adversely affects the quality of higher education in PNG.

In 2009, Professor Ross Garnaut and former PNG Prime Minister Rabbie Namilu were tasked by the PNG and Australian governments to carry out a study and report on the state of PNG higher education. This is a quote from the report:

“Papua New Guinea’s universities made a significant contribution to the nation in its early years. They can do so again but, right now, the quantity and quality of graduates is far short of what is needed – due to inadequate resources and a range of governance and general service quality issues.”

Nine years later, in 2018, the University of Papua New Guinea didn’t select any student from the Science Foundation Year to the Medical Faculty. The reason was: none of the students from the foundation year who applied for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) met the required GPA of 3.5. UPNG vice chancellor at the time, Vincent Malibe said:

“We could not lower the bar just to pass those 60 people. We said ‘no’. It’s unethical, we are dealing with lives.”

This is how it works: for any science field offered by UPNG, you apply as a Science Foundation Year (SFY) student. You then apply to get into different specialized fields, including School of Medicine. But to get into the School of Medicine you need a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher in the first year of study as a SFY student (first year). In 2018, no student met the required GPA for the first time in the university’s history. This was a red sign pointing to the diminishing quality of education in one of the main universities in PNG. We didn’t take notice. We still haven’t taken notice yet.

If the same requirement as those set by the School of Medicine was applied to all fields of study in PNG universities, substantial number of students would be dropped in the first year of study.

The lack of investment in ICT, library, infrastructure and essential equipment required of a modern university affects the quality of education in PNG universities. When quality is lost, the value of the degrees and certificates obtained in PNG universities will be determined by how many students we eliminate out of the system during selection. If you keep eliminating 18, 000 students in PNG, you will create a scarcity, and that drives up the value of the degree the 9, 000 students get upon graduation.

What should be done?

There are six performance indicators used to measure university rankings (QS World University Ranking). They are as follows:

1. Academic reputation (40%) – a global survey of more than 94,000 academics
2. Citations per faculty (20%) – a ‘citation’ means a piece of research being referred to (cited) within another piece of research.
3. Student-to-faculty ratio (20%) – the number of academic staff employed relative to the number of students enrolled
4. Employer reputation (10%) – a global survey of close to 45,000 graduate employers
5. International faculty ratio (5%)
6. International student ratio (5%)

Some of these indicators are beyond PNG’s immediate reach, but a varied form of three of the criteria can be achieved.

First, expand the capacity of PNG higher education so that every student who is eligible is selected, and improve conditions of academics to attract more (and better) academics and instructors. No student who meets the required GPA should miss out because of limited space (and the consequent quota system). Indicators 2, 5 and 6 can be attained by improving the employment conditions for the lecturers.

Second, invest in Infrastructure and ICT: invest into infrastructure and modern ICT for our universities and colleges. Criteria 6 can be achieved by investment in these areas.

Third, upgrade the courses/subjects offered. We need to benchmark the courses offered in our universities with the best in the region. Look at Singapore, Australia and New Zealand universities, and benchmark (upgrade) our courses. Again, criteria 6 can be achieved by improving curriculum.

Fourth, a lecturer that is employed must be required to conduct a specified minimum number of researches, publications and present papers at conferences. Contract renewals and promotions should strictly be based on these three requirements. Those who rely on outdated information, never published in the last three years should be shown the door at the end of their contract. Lecturers must be teaching current and relevant content, and that comes from research. Citations (criteria 2) is not possible unless academics start publishing.

Finally, there is a very flawed argument advanced by critics of mass education that we produce too many graduates who do not have jobs. Three reasons why there should be more students selected to universities:

1. We need an educated population. Our adult average education is four years, the lowest in the region and comparable to that of sub-Saharan Africa. We are among the least literate countries in the world, and we cannot be excluding more and more students. Being the least literate is not a record to be proud of, and yet we work hard at maintaining that record by excluding 18, 000 in 2020!

2. More students would create competition and make students work harder. Because the only way a graduate would stand out among masses of people with the same qualification is to be the best. It’s the same as flooding a market with three brands of phones: Samsung, Huawei, and iPhone. To have a competitive edge in the market, these brands must constantly engage in innovation. Competition among these three brands for market share will drive innovation, giving customers the choice to select among three great brands. If you only allow one brand into the market by restricting the other two, that brand will have no incentive to innovate because it is the only option available (monopoly). The same applies to the quota system used in selections in the long run.

3. Education is not always about getting employed. Education has other benefits: you will sell your land cheap to foreigners because you were not educated. That’s a real possibility. The quality of your health is intrinsically linked with the information you are exposed to, information you have greater exposure to if you were educated. The chances that your children may do well in life is improved if you’re educated. We need an education population regardless of whether there are enough jobs.

There is so much rhetoric about ‘Take Back PNG.’ You don’t do that at the expense of 18, 000 kids. And the 9, 000 we will rely on to make PNG the so-called richest black Christian nation need quality education.