15 Jul 2005

University of PNG threatens to end academic year

3:13 pm on 15 July 2005

The University of Papua New Guinea says it will terminate its 2005 academic year if students do not return to classes on Monday.

The National reports that the university's Academic Senate warned yesterday that the premature termination would take effect anytime from Monday if students failed to comply with the order.

The move will affect about 2,500 students.

In the campus yesterday, about one thousand policemen, including two mobile squads watched protest marches by about a thousand students, angry about a tough grading system and numerous other issues.

They carried posters and called for Vice-Chancellor Prof Les Eastcott to resign or they would withdraw from the university en masse.

In a statement released to the students and the media, the Academic Senate said it would meet on Monday to determine whether the semester could continue.

This follows a rampage by up to 300 students on Monday who lost patience while waiting to speak to the Vice-Chancellor and torched several university-owned vehicles.