Balob denies right of students to enrol

MORE than 100 first year students were barred from enrolling at the Balob Teachers College in Morobe Province yesterday. The college denied enrolment for the 100-plus students, alleging that their acceptance letter was not from the collage administration but done through fraudulent means with some senior staff. Disgruntled parents and students of those affected fronted up at the school gate for an explanation but were chased out by police who were called to provide security by the college in fear of trouble.

A public notice at the college gate put up by the administration read: “The college will not accept and register any acceptance letter from students who did not sit for the pre-enrolment test last year. Those students who have sat for the test and have an acceptance letter from the college governing council will be enrolled.” Some disgruntled parents told the Post-Courier that they had been in Lae for the last three days only to find that their children could not be enrolled due to unknown reasons.

“This is an administrative matter and it should have been dealt with earlier by the governing council. “Why does the college administration have to send two acceptance letters at the same time to self sponsor students and create this problem,” some parent said. Nathan Nakombe, a parent who travelled from Enga Province, said the administration’s action was a “slap in the face” for the students and parents who had to travel long distances as in his case.

However both deputy principals Peter Seth (academic) and Mulung Kumed (administration) made a public announcement in the media last month that the college would not accept students who did not sit for the pre-enrolment test last year. Both school heads came to the media after receiving reports of alleged “gross corruption” on the selection of self-sponsored students by senior staff who were allegedly taking bribes from students to provide space for enrolment.

When the college heard about the other list of self sponsored students last year, they came out to warn students not to come to the college with that letter. They said the college had policies for self-sponsored students’ enrolment and they would follow that.

By FRANK RAI of the Post Courier


*** Balob Teachers College is one of the premier church-run colleges in PNG and such corruption, bribery, mismanagement, malpractices, and nepotism are not tolerable at Balob campus. Mulung Kumed should know the impact the then late Kane Towandong had on the lives of students and staff back in the 90s and should use those principles.

I hate to see my former college running into administrative issues with the staff and board of governors of the college while creating anxiety among the students. Are the Evangelical Lutheran of Papua New Guinea (ELC-PNG), Good News Lutheran Church (GLC-PNG), and the Anglican Church remain silent and very vocal on this pressing issue, especially; at the beginning of a new school year?