The K500 million Peter O’Neill Higher Education Scam And Other Monday MisInformations
Our newest national clown, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill,
gave the Monday’s newspapers paragraphs of nonsense talk in his lame attempt to
convince the PNG public that he is doing the right thing by avoiding a very
simple solution and instead creating a complete disaster at the PNG University
of Technology in Lae.
While at Unitech, another quiet and peaceful holiday went by
for students, staffs and teachers, the clown
of Waigani hoped that his hot air would convince minds. Let us
examine the realities that the Prime Minister so badly wants to hide, starting
in each case with his own words.
PETER ONEILL: “Students
have got no right to appoint or demand vice chancellors. The University Council does that”
HIDDEN TRUTH: In a democratic society, all citizens have the
right to demand whatever they want. It’s
called free speech. The fact is that Unitech
students actually have representation on the University Council. In any
case, whenever we see injustice, we as citizens have the right to speak
out. If Peter O’Neill had been white as
his name suggests, and he had lived in South Africa during the 1960’s, he would
have also said that Nelson Mandela had no right to demand an end to apartheid.
PETER ONEILL: “If it
means that there’s an option of shutting down the university, we will.”
HIDDEN TRUTH: No you won’t if you have thought things
through. Not even developed countries have
seen shutting down a university as a viable option in response to student
boycotts, due to the incredible expense it involves.
PETER ONEILL: “If
people are not serious about their education, we are serious about their education.”
HIDDEN TRUTH: If you
were serious about their education, Prime Minister, your government would have
bought a few thousand books each for UPNG, UNITECH, UOG and UNRE as a first
order of business and a few thousand new computers for students to use in the
computer labs. Bu no, you are not interested about education
unless it gives you votes and keeps you in power. You have continued the decline in our
universities that began in the 1980s.
Our public universities are a disgrace to the country and a pretence
that your government tries to hide but the world easily sees through.
PETER ONEILL: “We
want to educate people who want to learn and become better citizens.”
HIDDEN TRUTH: There
are no better citizens on earth than those who speak up for a better society
and make personal sacrifices for the common good as the Unitech students are
doing. The students are learning how to become far
better and more effective students than you would like them to be. Obviously!
PETER ONEILL: “We’re
putting in another K500 million to build up all the tertiary institutions in
the country”.
HIDDEN TRUTH: Much of
this money, if it ever comes, will be spent on building contracts that include
kickbacks to Peter O’Neill’s friends if not himself. These days, infrastructure construction
contracts are one of PNG’s best ways to make money corruptly. Peter O’Neill is interested in building
classrooms and fixing roads because that’s where the hidden profit is and it
impresses uneducated parents who don’t realise that an empty classroom achieves
no education at all. O’Neill has no
interest in stocking those classrooms with learning materials, because there’s
not the kickback money potential in it.
Look to see exactly what any significant new money will be spent
on. And let’s not forget the planned Highlands
University, the ultimate political boondoggle.
Here we have 4 public universities that are so decrepit as to be
national embarrassments and our Prime Minister wants to build another one –
near his electorate, of course!
PETER ONEILL: “”The
Sevua Report does not clearly say that Scrham issues are resolved to the
satisfaction of everyone. That includes
clearance about his qualifications.
Scrham was given an opportunity to appear before the inquiry, he travelled
into the country and disrespected the inquiry and did appear before the inquiry
– instead he was doing his own business.”
HIDDEN TRUTH: The
hidden truth, of course, has always been the hidden Sevua report. Why has it not been released so we all can
see if Peter O’Neill, Delilah Gore and David Arore are telling the truth? There’s
a reason why they keep hiding the Sevua report and that is because it’s
findings are a heck of a lot more embarrassing to O’Neill friends than to VC
Albert Schram.
PETER ONEILL: “If the
new council feels that Schram is the rightfully qualified person, they will
employ him, if not somebody else”.
HIDDEN TRUTH:
Interesting, interesting, interesting.
We seem to recall that it was the O’Neill government, specifically David
Arore, that appointed the interim council.
At that time the council was praised as having the best possible members
and for the most part everyone else would agree. And what has this interim council decided
about the VC? They votes unanimously that
they want him to come back and resume his job!
Suddenly Peter ONeill seems to have no faith in the interim council
headed by the respected Sir Nagora Bogan. Why would that be? Obviously the council members functioned as a
true university Council should: they
thought independently, intellectually and objectively to solve the Albert
Schram issue. They read the Sevua report
and considered its findings with respect to Albert Schram. Peter O’Neill wants none of that kind of
behaviour from the Council. He wants a
nation full of tea boys and tea girls appointing whoever the Prime Minister
wants and shows him proper respect. That’s
why our Prime Minister has now decided he’s going to appoint a new Council of
cronies. There’s only one problem with
that. The Unitech Act of 1986 doesn’t
provide for him to appoint a new council.
Instead, he should have allowed the criminal prosecution and conviction of
members of the old council for corruption, which would have allowed their
removal.