The Question of University Legitimacy in Papua New Guinea

Two seemingly unrelated events took place in early October 2010 in the higher education sector in Papua New Guinea, of which one was reported in the daily newspapers, and one did not. The event reported was that the leader of the opposition in government, Sir Mekere Morauta, had visited Jubilee University (JU) during which he had presided over the commissioning of the institution’s new security fence.  The event that went unreported, though not by design, was that a team from Divine Word University (DWU), of which I was a member, conducted an audit of the  neighbouring nursing school, the Lutheran School of Nursing (LSON), which was seeking to renew its affiliation with DWU for a third term.

Had both been reported in the news, to the casual observer it would not have been obvious that the unrelated events were connected to the current larger subsurface narrative at play in the sphere of PNG higher education. The narrative is on the question of university or higher education institution legitimacy. Just when and how does an organization aspiring to become an institution of higher learning in PNG become validated as one and what are the tangible indicators of its legitimacy? And who are the key payers that bestow legitimacy?

During the audit of LSON, both staff including the head of the school expressed satisfaction at the benefits that flowed from affiliation in terms of the school’s increased collaboration with key partners in both the health and higher educations sectors which had increased the school’s public visibility and translated into improved standards of their academic awards. Predictably, they wished to see the relationship with DWU continue.

The terms of reference of the LSON audit were developed from process and protocol set by the national higher education regulatory bodies of the Commission for Higher Education (CHE), its service arm the Office of Higher Education (OHE) and DWU whose programs are accredited by CHE and thus it could act as an accrediting agency.

The fact that JU had invited the leader of the opposition in government and he had accepted the invitation could be interpreted as a show of endorsement of the institution at this level of government. Given the authority vested in the leader of the opposition, would the visit have translated into greater acceptance and visibility of JU amongst the public and the key constituency of HEIs?

Well, not quite, in my view. A public notice placed in the newspapers earlier this year outlined the required process and protocol to be adhered to by institutions seeking accreditation and subsequently acceptance as HEIs. JU had apparently not complied with these requirements and its claim to university status was and remains contested. Also in February of this year, it was reported in the National newspaper that Dr Tagis, the Director General of the OHE, had written to the National Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, the sponsor of Jubilee College (the specific use of term ‘college’), that the institution had not satisfied the requirements to be conducting itself as an HEI and it was misleading for it to be publicly calling itself a university.

And so the message in this is that even if there is support from the highest levels of politics, until such time as JU or any other aspiring organizations comply with the stipulated requirements, they will remain ostracized from the community of accredited institutions as illegitimate. The acceptance by this community will greatly increase JU's profile as an institution of higher learning. LSON demonstrates on the other hand that an institution will continue to reap the rewards that flow from being accepted as a higher learning institution as long as it is prepared to periodically subject itself to an audit process.