[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1612920987960{margin-bottom: 27px !important;}”]The University reinstated its Student Representative Council on the 12th of August under a new constitutional structure after it was abolished four years ago.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1612921067412{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Under the new constitutional framework, processes of nominating and voting of candidates have been changed to truly represent the wishes of the entire student body and not of a particular region, province or gender.

Pro Chancellor of the University Council, Mr Sam Koim said in a recent Facebook post that Regionalism is becoming a big problem at national universities, including Unitech. “At Unitech, we are structurally eliminating provincialism. You want to practise your provincial leadership, go to your province; not at The Papua New Guinea University of Technology,” he said. “Fixing the SRC Constitution was one of the immediate things I contributed by framing the SRC structure in such a way that it truly represents the wishes of all the students instead of the wishes of a dominant regional, provincial or gender group.”

Koim explained that there were some provinces and regions who had the most ideal candidate but they did not have student numbers hence couldn’t put up the candidate, let alone winning it if they tried. Criterions of the new constitutional framework include nominating and voting student representatives by their respective departments who will form the Student Representative Council. The SRC President is then elected by the Council Representatives. “The SRC President gets the mandate of his/her Department first and then gets the mandate of his/her peers in Council to be President,” Koim explained.

Another criterion under the new structure allows only those who are performing well academically and are capable of taking extra responsibilities. “All students are capable of becoming leaders of their own right but in this setting, only those who can handle extra pressure.” Koim said a strike management strategy was also introduced in the Constitution where the SRC can facilitate students to participate in expressing their views in a civilised manner, not the primitive ways of burning cars first to express their opinions. “Students strike is the very last resort that can be taken but in a controlled manner and has to be approved by majority of all registered students instead of few misleading everyone. This is designed to allow young people to participate in the political discourse of our country but in a more civilised and intellectual manner. Suppressing this altogether is unhealthy for our democracy hence these measures,” he added.

Koim said he is happy and satisfied to learn that many students participated freely in the elections and they’ve conducted themselves professionally and maturely and they all welcomed the results on Wednesday.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2/3″][stm_blockquote cite=”Sam Koim Pro Chancellor of the University Council”]“Fixing the SRC Constitution was one of the immediate things I contributed by framing the SRC structure in such a way that it truly represents the wishes of all the students instead of the wishes of a dominant regional, provincial or gender group.”[/stm_blockquote][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]