Students?

There might have been an excuse for it if they had been caring for the welfare of any one else but themselves.

Students the world over demonstrate - but usually it’s over a question of principle, or as a result of that brand of high moral motivation peculiar to the young before they have slipped into the dis honesty of conscience which usually comes with

maturity.

But, on the campuses of Papua New Guinea, from late April to the end of May, so-called students had the interests of none but them selves at heart as first they struck and then resorted to threats, violence, destructive ness and theft.

To be fair, it became clear before the strike had run half its course that less than 50% of students at PNG’s two top tertiary institutions - the

University of Papua New

Guinea in Port Moresby and the Papua New Guinea

University of Technology in

Lae wanted it to go on. But that there were enough anti democrats around to reject the anti-strike vote and keep it going for another three weeks, must evoke despair in the minds of independent Papua New Guinea’s present first-generation leaders, most of whom never had the edu cational opportunities which are there as reward for genu ine affort today.

The whole sorry strike epi sode stemmed from two de-

By The Editor

mands. One was quite reasonable. The students wanted higher book allow ances. The government re sponded reasonably. It increased book allowances.

The other, considering it came from men and women who one day are likely to form a sizeable chunk of the PNG leadership, was less than reasonable. They wanted more pocket money.

As if K 5 a week and all found were not enough? The government refused to budge on that one. Quite reason

ably.

By and large, PNG’s ter tiary class have got it made.

The bulk of the universities’ 2000 students comprises national scholarship scheme holders, members of an

interesting experiment in

education. Basically what happens is this. Each year the government. combs the country for its best student potential and then puts those chosen on to a professional student payroll. They get full free places at university, ac commodation, food and a pocket allowance of about K 5 a week more than enough if a student is dedicated to his or her studies.

On a loftier plane, there should be room in Papua New Guinea today for a little more sacrifice in the interests of a country desperately in need of local talent to fill the many positions which still go to expensive expatriates. -

Bob Hawkins.