Morobe’s Balob Teachers College (BTC) will be accepting only 150 non-school leaver students from the 300 that were selected online for this year due to limited spaces, an official says.
The school can only accommodate 300 new students annually.
Principal Jerry Hendingao said in a statement that the institution normally received 150 non-school leavers selected online and accepted the other 150 spaces from school leavers.
This year the online selection were 300 non-school leavers and 150 school leavers and this will greatly affect the operation in the institution. There is not enough space to accommodate 300 first-year students as we also have to think about second and third year students as well.
This year, for the first time, we will have the fourth year students doing the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST) – approved curriculum for a degree certification.
Principal Hendingao
Hendingao made the statement after parents raised concerns regarding their children being selected through the online selection not securing places at the college.
The parents argued that the college had no power to refuse the students when the selection on merit had been done by DHERST.
He said the college would use grade point average (GPA) rankings to select the top 75 male and 75 female students while the remaining students could be considered for the 2024 academic year.
The college’s decision has been supported by DHERST.
Hendingao said the department also directed the college administration to write official letters to the remaining 150 students informing them that they would be considered for the next academic year and the reasons why the institution had to take such action.