A leader in East New Britain (ENB) has called for the closure of the University of Natural Resources and Environment (UNRE) in the province after the removal of the former vice chancellor (VC) Professor Aisak Pue from office, Post Courier (August 29, 2022) reports.
Sinai Brown, a prominent leader in the province, called on the prime minister to close the university or relocate it somewhere else.
He said he was disappointed in the way the new vice chancellor, chancellor and council members were appointed by the former Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology and Sports, Wesley Raminai.
Brown said they did not respect for the Tolais, Baining and Pomio people by appointing people with questionable characters to the post. He also called on the people to rise up against the takeover of the institution.
I call on all the Tolais, Bainings and Pomios to rise up. We cannot allow our institution to be taken over like that.
Sinai Brown
Mr Brown also appealed to the province’s political leaders to unite and resolve the university’s issues. He said the institution has been in a mess and has been abused by successive vice chancellors, but they are seeing hope in the current VC whose management has been cleaning out outstanding audits since 2016.
Brown also added that the police and judicial system have been used to destroy institutions of government, and these institutions have been thrown into disrepute. He said there was no more respect for high offices and the most corrupt are the educated elites.
We use our people, police and the courts for all the wrong reasons and self greed.
Brown
Professor Pue was served court orders on August 22 in front of staff and students at Vudal. However, he refused to accept the order. Instead, the institution’s public relations officer received it on the academic’s behalf.