The Yangoru-Saussia District in the East Sepik Province made history last night (December 20, 2022) by signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) to roll out its Open University Program at the district. Yangoru-Saussia will be the pilot district to roll out this program, offering four (4) Diploma and Degree programs along with the Science Foundation year in the 2023 academic year.
“Today is a start of a new journey for UPNG and I want to thank the university Vice Chancellor, Professor Frank Griffin and the management team for having the confidence and entrusting this new journey to Yangoru-Saussia District out of all the districts in the country. It is not an easy decision to make and I really appreciate the opportunity to work together with UPNG, because if we make it work then they will be confident to roll out the similar program to other districts,” said Minister Maru.
“Bringing university to the district is something that I have been wanting for a long time and I am really happy for this opportunity for my district to be the pilot district for this program and we (Yangoru-Saussia DDA) will do anything and everything to support UPNG to make it work,” said Minister Maru.
“Over many years, most of the students from my district who have met the university requirements for entry to universities such as the UPNG have missed out due to limited spaces available, but this will now be a thing of the past. We are now partnering with the country’s premier institution to bring University Education to the doorsteps of our people so the students will now receive the same quality education their colleagues receive at the UPNG at their doorsteps,” Minister Maru said.
In terms of preparation, the Yangoru-Saussia District has one campus at Warasawa in the Numbo LLG with two classrooms and a four-bedroom house for the Centre Director who will also be given a vehicle. Fencing of the campus is set to start and will be completed before the academic year begins. Also, with the district having two ethnic groups- Yangoru and Saussia, the DDA have decided that UPNG will have two open campuses in the district to cater for students from both ethnic groups.
“It is not possible for the kids to come from Yangoru to Numbo to study and return to their homes because of the distance so we are going to have to run two campuses. We have the Yangoru School of Excellence (SoE) and it will basically be a host as it has the best facilities in the country, funded by the Australian Government. Our plan is that the students who are going to be the pioneer Science Foundation students will reside in the campus and study. We are in the process of building an extra house to cater for a lab technician. The funds have been released towards the house and the work should start soon. We will also be building a new science facility similar to the state-of-the-art science labs at the SoE in the campus at Numbo. So, in the future we will start offering science courses in both campuses. With the intensity of the science foundation program, we would prefer the science students to reside on campus,” said Minister Maru.
In terms of interest, 97 students from the Numbo LLG alone recorded their names to express their interest during the visit of the UPNG team in October this year.
“So, the campus is available, the facilities are already there and so is the interest and demand; we are now ready to start next year,” said Minister Maru.
Minister Maru requested UPNG to appoint the Centre Director as soon as possible to provide the administrative support so selection and enrolment for 2023 academic year can proceed.
Meanwhile, the application forms for admission have been distributed for completion by students. The programs offered are:
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts (Professional Studies for teachers)
Business Management Foundation
Science Foundation
Course fees will be K600 per course for Arts programs and K900 per course for Science Foundation. The application for the non-school leavers closes on December 31, 2022 and application for the school leavers will close on January 31, 2023.
