Unitech offering online courses

The Papua New Guinea University of Technology (Unitech), despite having limited classroom and accommodation space, has been reaching out to more students through its online courses, says an official.

Vice-chancellor Dr Ora Renagi said the institution was also recruiting online.

The university started its online courses last year with 60 students registered and would be running its second batch program this year with about 150 students registered already.

The Government’s agenda on increasing access so we are doing exactly what they had instructed.

We’re addressing the access and quality issues as well.

Dr Renagi

Some of the online course the university offered includes;

• Business Accountancy;
• Business Management;
• Business It;
• Business Economics;
• Land And Property Studies; And,
• Communications For Development.

The online classes are the same as the ones that are going on-campus.

For the lectures, we get the video of the lecturer teaching and send it to the online students so that the same lecture is given.

So the course is running parallel, and after four years, then they (online students) will join the on-campus students for graduation.

Renagi

According to Renagi, the online course has its challenges but the university was managing it.

We are managing it because the online program is going to be self-sustained.

The students can save money and they don’t need to come here to study to pay for the boarding and lodging which we only charge them tuition fees.

Renagi

Renagi also urged first-year students to recognize their potential to serve a wider community.

The university is providing training and education for you to continue to realize your potential, not only to serve the company which you will be working for, but also to serve the community you come from.

Some students come from families where parents are still subsistence farmer, mothers are still walking distances to fetch water, medical services are lacking in these areas and this is our challenge, as the graduates from this university.

Dr Ora Renagi

Renagi highlighted that the university does not only establish and operate to graduate professionals of a particular field, but to graduate people who acquired knowledge to serve the wider community.