Liklik Diwai: 8 February 1999
EDUCATION: CHALLENGE FOR JOURNALISM SCHOOL
The Papua New Guinea Media Council wants to have computers donated to the University of PNG journalism program handed over to the Divine Word University after a "litany of broken promises" closed down journalism studies at UPNG.
By Staff Reporters
A PIONEERING journalism school at the University of Papua New Guinea has been axed as a result of political infighting at the university, says a former course coordinator.
David Robie, course coordinator at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, and a former lecturer at UPNG, said journalism has been a casualty of university politics.
The university removed two faculties after the government had reduced its budget allocation.
Mr Robie said: "Sadly there has been a litany of broken promises and an unwillingness to consider good proposals put forward for the future of journalism education.
"Instead, the administration has preferred to listen to academic staff who are uninformed about media or world journalism education trends."
Meanwhile, Mr Robie said students seeking a journalism career would inevitably suffer from reduced opportunities.
He described the closure of the course as a betrayal of future journalists and added that even though Divine Word University offers a good program it would not meet the growing journalism training needed in the country.
"Education of journalists, just like teachers is vital for development of the nation and good governance, and the UPNG program has already educated a generation of media staff," he said.
The UPNG journalism program was set up in 1975, originally being funded by the New Zealand government for the long-term development of journalism education and training in PNG and the Pacific, and was later merged with the library and information studies in 1995.
It became the South Pacific Center for Communication and Information in Development (SPCENCIID).
The program has already produced more than 190 graduates, some are editors and news directors today.
When reports first surfaced in 1997 that the university was planning to shut down the journalism program, several media organisations and journalism schools appealed to Vice Chancellor Dr. Rodney Hills against this decision. None received a favourable response.
The president of the PNG Media Council, Luke Sela, expressed concern over the funding strategy adopted by the university council, which was announced on January 25.
The council, which is made up of the country's news organisations, made several unsuccessful, attempts to meet with Dr Hills that year, according to the president.
Mr Sela said: "The Media Council will not support the elimination of media development at its most crucial stage."
"The closure of the journalism course is a direct attack on media freedom."
The university council's move was also condemned in an editorial in The National newspaper. It expressed regret that such an action had been taken as many of its reporters graduated from that school.
University Chancellor Dame Rose Kekedo was reported in the Post-Courier of January 28 to have said that the university would need at least K6 million to reverse its decision to axe the two faculties and the journalism program.
Mr Robie described the university council's cost cutting strategy as a joke as very little had been spent on journalism.
"When the University Council now talks about the high costs involved it is a laugh," he said.
"There was never core funding for the program. Even some of the general operating costs had to be met by donated funds."
He added that the program has had to make do with donations from the main stream media and other sources such as the Post-Courier, Communication Assistance Foundation, Canada Fund and the New Zealand Government.
He has requested that the Media Council do all it can to recover the donated computers and equipment and give them to the journalism program at Divine Word University.
"The UPNG cannot morally hijack this equipment and use it for another purpose. They were donated specifically to the journalism program for training of journalism students."
The two faculties being scraped are the Faculties of Allied Health Sciences and Creative Arts.