Minister Niningi raises concerns raised on Online Tertiary Selections

PNG Higher Education Minister Pila Niningi has responded to concerns by parents and students over the online selection process.
Mr Niningi said the onus is on parents and their children to check with the higher education institutions who are making the selections of students for the following year.
“The Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology’s staff could not simply invite parents to come to Port Moresby and discuss this matter as we are not selecting and enrolling students at institutions of higher learning,” he said in a statement.
“If parents wish to clarify such issues related to selection and enrolment they should contact the institution directly.
“My ministry and the department only facilitates the enrolment processes, so theselection of students is made transparently.
“A significant number of higher institutions changed their program requirement and quota throughout the application process to ensure that they get the best students.
“I respect the autonomy of those institutions, and they have the right to set up criteria to ensure that their students reach the highest academic competences during their studies.
“This resulted in a few students with good GPA not being selected.”
Mr Niningi said that GPA is not the single requirement considered as a factor in program selection ranking.
He said selectors at institutions of higher learning used complex ranking order in the round of selections.