THIS is an open letter to the University Papua New Guinea (UPNG) and the general public.
I am a student at the UPNG and I would like to convey my opinionated reasoning for a consensual resolution of the current boycott of classes. Firstly, to the Student Representative Council (SRC): I have attended two forum meetings conducted by your body of representatives and I regret the personal conclusions drawn from those forums. If we refer to ourselves as intellectuals, we should be using our intellectual capacity to prudently determine the causes and consequences of our actions based on logical reasoning and understanding. If we keep saying that we are fighting for the future of Papua New Guinea, wouldn’t our actions be more productive with very effective means of results if we were to firstly gain our degrees and diplomas with high honours before jeopardising our education in taking actions that would be converse. Just think, with your degrees and diplomas - after serious academic activities - you will be able to fight a better fight for the silent majority of Papua New Guineans rather than with half-completed transcripts and no understanding in philosophical thoughts and principles of governance, including the laws if we continue to boycott classes. I must emphasise that I mean no disrespect to the endeavours taken by the SRC but at the end of the day, I remind myself that: 1. The SRC has taken a stand on grounds which border on the infringements of laws which we at the university are proclaiming to uphold; 2. Why initiate actions that will greatly undermine our studies when such actions could have been conducted after the completion of the semester one examinations preferably during the semester break; 3. If the SRC’s demands are met, have they conceived and supported their petition with strong alternatives to what should happen after the Office of the Prime Minister has been undermined or do they think institutional problems will magically solve themselves; 4. With only 10 months away from the general elections, why not wait for the election to let the people really decide who should lead them rather than claiming that the 7000 students of the UPNG represent the views of the 7 million of PNG. It is unjustifiable when the living piece of law which is the Constitution and other enabling laws do not fundamentally provide for the actions that the university students are taking. Thus, I call on the SRC and the student body to be careful because our actions will surely determine our future and the future of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. This is because our course of action will greatly undermine not only the Office of the Prime Minister but will bring constitutional chaos if we call on the current Prime Minister to resign. Even the call by the SRC that it wishes to maintain and uphold the Office of the Prime Minister does not hold water because how can you maintain the intricacies of such an institution if you break it at its foundation. The SRC and the student body should initiate the resumption of classes before Friday this week and the respective 22 provincial group presidents should work with the SRC to address the issues by legal means during the semester break to avoid inconveniences for the academic year. There are ways in which discontented individuals can legally remove the Prime Minister if they really study the laws governing the Office of the Prime Minister rather than through unconstitutional actions that will have adverse effects on the general student body. Brian Lora UPNG, NCD Share your Inspirational Stories, Education Issues, Education Talk. Let your voice be heard: Send us your stories to us: email : [email protected] Share this
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