The SP PNG Hunters have opened their 2023 account with a 20-10 victory over the Western Clydesdales in dull conditions at Clive Berghofer Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The SP PNG Hunters opened the score board by putting the first try and a conversion followed it. Two more tries by the Hunters, but with no conversion. This saw the PNG boys lead 14 to 0. However, just before half- time, the Western Clydesdales score one try to make it a 10 points deference. Both teams went into half- time with 14- 4. The second half was toughly fought out, but the SP PNG Hunters boys had the upper hand, closing the their season opener match with a win. SP PNG Hunters Head Coach Stanley Tepend was delighted with his side’s effort in the trying conditions. “The way we defended our line early on was pleasing,” said Tepend. “They had a few chances to attack our line early with back-to-back sets, but we adjusted to the conditions well and managed to withstand their attacking raids early and get off to a good start.” “To go down the other end and score with our first opportunity in attack was big for us. It was our first game with a number of debutants, but a good start helped to settle the nerves. That was an important win.” Meanwhile, SP PNG Hunters debutant Morea Morea took the Hastings Deering Player of the Match.

Member for Moresby South and Minister for Foreign Affairs Justin Tkatchenko has made it clear that health service is among the top priority areas catered for in his electorate’s new 5 Year District Development Plan. Tkatchenko said health is a big issue in the country and for Moresby South as well. He said the electorate was classed as having the highest TB rates in a district, but thanks to a lot of work and coordination the statistics have gone down. “That is why we are just about to open the new Moresby South District Hospital, which will be a good example for all districts.” The new district hospital will have an equipped eight-bed maternity ward, ten-bed in-patient, X-ray unity, pharmacy, housing for two doctors, housing for nurses on site with ambulance service as well on twenty-four-hour call. “We have Moresby South ambulances. We paid for the ambulances and Saint John Ambulance is with us and were making it happen.” This will ease the load on Port Moresby General Hospital and shorten the distance for many, especially villagers coming from the areas near to the PNG LNG plant site in the Central province seeking medical treatment. Tkatchenko is urging all residents living in and around Moresby South to look after the facility and use it with care as it comes at a great cost.

Mr. Houston Nen from the Southern Highlands province, who is one of the eleven students selected as the new generation of the Kokoda Track Foundation (KTF) Archers Leadership Development program, hopes to maximize its benefits and absorb as much as he can on leadership skills. Nen is a final year student studying to get his bachelor’s degree in Building & Construction at the Papua New Guinea (PNG) University of Technology (UoT). He said, he found out about the program from a couple of his friends who were part of the program and was keen to be part of it, but had to wait to be a final year student in order to be eligible to apply. “I’ve seen how life changing it is for them in terms of building their network, being mentored by professionals that are already in the industry, develop leadership skills that could help then someday and build contacts for job opportunities after school. I mean, that’s pretty exciting and I want that too. I’m very happy that I’m part of this year’s 2023 batch.” Nen hopes to create new pathways, build new contacts and learn as much as he can through KTF’s Archer Leadership Development Program. “I want to expand my network and get to know people from different walks of life. Being at UniTech, I only know students studying in the engineering stream and being here, I’m happy to get to know students from UPNG as well.” Nen also said that through KTF’s mentorship programs for young leaders, he hopes to get the much needed leadership skills and learn as much as he can.

The Kokoda Track Foundation (KTF) in partnership with the PNG Sustainable Development Program (SDP) recently graduated 192 talented and motivated Grade 12 students from Western province who completed studies at their respective Flexible Open and Distance Education (FODE) centres in Balimo, Morehead and St Gabriel’s in North Fly district. This exceptional group of students persevered and succeeded despite numerous setbacks and challenges like the COVID pandemic, the 2022 National General Election and a range of other issues. They resumed their studies as a pathway to new opportunities including further studies at tertiary level, which can open exciting career opportunities for students, like becoming health workers and teachers. The FODE centres aimed to train people from Western province for employment in the province and seeks to complement the efforts by the government on delivering education in Western. It all started in 2019 with 105 students enrolled in Balimo. This year, a total of 775 students enrolled in Balimo, Morehead, Kiunga, and Lake Murray. In 2022 KTF in partnership with PNG SDP opened the Balimo College, an initiative of SDP implemented in partnership with KTF, which offered teacher training and in due course, a school of nursing and other disciplines such as agriculture. The FODE program provides a pathway to Balimo College, which enrolled an initial intake of 37 teacher trainees at the beginning of last year, making it Western Province’s first-ever Teachers College. 36 of those students passed their exams and continued as second-year trainee teachers this year, along with a second intake of 40 first-year trainees. “The growth of Balimo Teachers College has been a great motivator for our FODE students who aspire to become primary teachers,” said SDP’s Director of Education Programs, Dr. Brad Shaw. “We are very pleased to be working with KTF and seeing the successful expansion of our FODE program both in terms of student numbers and geographic coverage.” Meanwhile, the students themselves that graduated had a lot of experiences and stories to share about how they came to be in the FODE centres and eventually making it to the next level. Miss Kelesa Gebone, a graduating student from Balimo FODE centre, shared her experiences and excitement. “Initially, I completed my studies in the village; however, I did not get the required GPA (Grade Point Average) needed to pass and so I enrolled in Balimo FODE to upgrade my marks. Now I have reached my goal and finally will be graduating. I had to paddle one day to reach Balimo just to get to school,” said said. “There were lots of struggles and challenges, but I did not give up. I had lots of restless nights because I want to be somebody in the future. I am also happy that I have been selected to attend the Balimo Teachers College. I am very happy and thankful to SDP.” Another student, Kelakiyato Gogo from Wasua village, has a compelling story. She enrolled in the FODE program in 2020 but had to withdraw due to illness. In 2021, she re-enrolled, only to fall sick again and had to leave school the second time. Last year, when she re-enrolled, she told herself that she can do it and with the support from her husband and the FODE teachers who continued to encourage her journey, she completed her studies and was so delighted to receive the ‘Most Improved’ award for Grade 12. She is currently enrolled as a first-year teacher trainee at Balimo College and said when she completes her studies, she hopes to teach at her husband’s village in Waliama. “I want to encourage those who are starting their FODE journey, if you want to achieve something be committed and make the sacrifice. You will get there,” she said. Grade 12 Dux awardee Maxine Dabema added, “Hard work pays off. Work hard and you will achieve your dreams. Education is precious – we don’t realise it but when you are given a second chance, grab it and make the most out of it.”

Our very own SP PNG Hunters will take on the Kaiviti Silktails in the PacificAus Sports Melanesian Bowl challenge this afternoon at 4:30pm (PNG time) at the Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka in Fiji. The game this afternoon forms part of the Hunters' Queensland Hostplus Cup preparations for round 1 which will kick off on March 11th. The Silktails play in the New South Wales (NSW) Rugby League's Ron Massey Cup, which kicks off on March 18. The Hunters Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Scott Barker said the coming together of both teams was extremely important after last year's inaugural game at the Gold Coast was cancelled due to severe weather. “This game will help show the pathway available to Melanesian players to play elite and semi-elite football,” Barker said. "It was a great disappointment to everyone when last year's game got cancelled.” But, Barker said having the teams come together to celebrate their cultures and share their experiences was invaluable. "Both were based in Australia last year and both doing it pretty tough, so it was great to have the players come together in a room to share their experience. For many, they had come from villages to living here to play," Barker said. The SP PNG Hunters squad list for match this afternoon: Morea Morea Solo Wane Ben Kelly Rodrick Tai Brandon Nima Judah Rimbu Jamie Mavako Junior Rop Wesser Tenza Epel Kapinias Sherwin Tanabi Julius Yakopa Sakias Komati Trevor Solu Siki Konden Tom Moide Joshua Mire Matthew Jesse Sanny Wabo.

The University of Goroka will soon expand its centers to Manus, East New Britain, Gulf and Western province with the aim to produce quality teachers for better and quality education to be taught in the country. Vice Chancellor Dr Teng Waninga said, they currently have 18 centers within the country and one of the main focus of the UOG Council and top management is to observe the remaining students who cannot make it into the system and provide a way forward for them to continue their studies in their own provinces. This comes after the UOG Council announced that it was refocussing its strategic directives which included establishing UOG centers in the 22 provinces and linking them to the main campus through the online learning infrastructure to cater for the grade 12 push outs with required GPA levels. “The University of Goroka does not have enough classrooms and infrastructure that’s why we want to observe all the 29, 000 students each year so they can just stay in their own provinces and enroll and we can offer some of the courses online.” Dr. Waninga said, they are already offering bachelor programs, management programs, diploma in tourism and hospitality, diploma in business studies and accounting and are looking to move up to degree programs that will be available in the provinces as well. The challenge is there and it is all about looking at a better network. “All the Vice Chancellors, we met together with the DHERST Minister and talked and made presentations to look for a common network that can be provided for all higher education institutions to provide online programs.” He said, this can be accomplished if we have a network, a satellite which can solve all our online problems.

 The NCD Governor Powes Parkop has given his assurance the issue of ethnic clashes in the city will be addressed today . This follows an ethnic clash at Kennedy Estate some 15 minutes outside of the Port Moresby city earlier this week. Governor Parkop in his first public engagement since his hospitalization and recovery said, it’s important to find a mechanism to overcome all these ethnic clashes because we are in the capital city and these sort of things should not be witnessed in the heart of the country. “This will be my key message today when we will commemorate the journey of our nation tomorrow as we mark the death anniversary of our late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare.” Governor Parkop added this as it was late Grand Chief Somare’s dream as a land of a thousand tribes to be one nation. "That will be my key message to the people of NCD today." “These should not be a responsibility of the National Capital District alone but the responsibility too for the Nation as well." Parkop further stated, "All the provinces and districts in the country should be promoting national unity and not tribalism which is killing our nation." "We have to acknowledge, recognize the tension and come back with a mechanism for that and that’s what I want to do from here on wards." “On our part, our people of Motu Koita for example have sacrificed a lot for our country in the past and even up to now." "And the greatest gift that we can give them is to overcome all this ethnic tensions and tribal differences.”

Its business as usual for St. John Ambulance operations in the city. The ambulance service continued daily operational runs as normal throughout the nation-wide fuel crisis that reached its peak on Monday. SJA Director of Operations Support, Monni Cross said they are monitoring fuel supply closely and will adjust operations as and when needed. Mr. Cross said they will continue to operate and will always be on the road attending to emergencies amidst the fuel situation with backup fuel still available for their operations.  “We have reviewed the fuel levels and are managing our supply.  We are rationing our emergency fuel backup to maintain operations, he added.” "Please save 111 for emergencies and call if you have a geniune emergency." If the fuel shortage had to continue longer than expected, St John may need to decrease the ambulance service response to those with non-emergency and transfer cases.

The mad rush for fuel in the nations capital, Port Moresby, is reaching new heights with motor vehicle owners especially public transport qeueing up with extra drums and containers at service stations. Taxis and PMV buses were seen filling up their fuel tanks as well as two or more containers to avoid the risk of running out of fuel to continue providing transportation services to the people of NCD. A local bus crew that runs the Gordon's to 9 mile route confirmed that his bus refilled two extra 20 litre containers of fuel to keep his bus going until or whenever the fuel crisis returns is restored. As of this morning, an update on NCD Fuel Stations: OPEN: Total Boroko, Total Badili,Puma Kone CLOSED: Mobil Lahara,Puma Badili, Puma Hohola

After many complaints from political leaders about the University Of Goroka (UOG) not doing its mandated job to teach, train and produce quality teachers, UOG is now refocusing its strategic directives to focus more on producing quality teachers. Vice Chancellor Dr. Teng Waninga says, operating for 26 years now as a specialized teacher education institution in the country comes with a great responsibility to produce quality teachers so that they bring quality back into the schools they go to and teach. He said, this major restructure model is called 3+1 which means that students will do 3 years of content study and 1 year of education apart from the previous years where students had to do 4 years of content and do a PTD which is 5 years of study which is quite costly for parents. “Apart from UOG’s major restructure which is the 3+1 module, the university will and continue to teach other courses as there is a need for other programs to be taught. Dr Waninga said, the major restructure that they will do is to have all the courses that they run that are taught in primary, secondary and school of excellence will run under the 3+1 module so that all training teachers will go through that process and study, qualify and become teachers. “These will benefit students as they will gain confidence and knowledge from each of the subjects they take and graduate under the new 3+1 module.” The University of Goroka’s Council will now reform the university to concentrate on Teacher Education and these includes; • Conduct academic program audit and recognize existing programs to produce quality teachers • Review all the content degree programs in line with the country’s manpower need and off load all essential programs to online learning • Immediately upgrade, reform and build ICT infrastructure to accommodate online degree programs • Establish UOG study centers in the 22 provinces and link them to the main campus through the online learning infrastructure to cater for the grade b12 push outs with required GPA level. Build UOG along the theme; bringing gowns and degree to your location. • Enhance UOGs existing programs in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu and expand to other pacific island countries • Coordinate and plan reform strategic plan by the 2nd quarter of 2023 • Review UOG organizational structure in line with the strategic plan, recruit best and qualified man power to implement the reform strategies • Review existing governance structure and processes and establish a robust governance to enhance accountability, transparency and efficiency • Investigate and identify staff who continuously interfere with the student selection process and take necessary asction against concerned staff. More so, identify weakness in the selection process and rectify them immediately • Make English a compulsory course for all trainee teachers to undertake during the 4 years program • UOG is a state institution and the administration is to make sure the interest of the state is protected and promoted at all times. Investigate and remove all conduits for external influence including the nearby communities. Dr. Waninga said, since the university’s establishment as a college in 1961, has grown in terms of academic program, infrastructure and including staff and students progress. “One of the major transition took place in 1997 when the UOG ACT was passed and it became a fully-fledged University.” Dr. Waninga further stated that, given the current demand from the stakeholder bad the national demand for quality secondary teacher, the council will reform the University to concentrate on producing quality teachers by this year.

Unable to access the much needed learning materials when growing up in Lae, Shane Chinau founder of Chayil Information Technology aims to provide the best E-learning resources for students who have limited access to resourceful materials in schools even in remote areas. According to Director Shane Chinau, Chayil Information Technology is a 100% PNG owned ICT Company established in 2014 that is based in Lae, Morobe province. He said, they are more focused on educational services to better students learning across the country. Currently, they have installed e-library services in 37 locations in the country in different schools. “We have installed the E-Library service from elementary, primary, secondary and all the way to tertiary institutions as well as communities, NGOs and government organizations. The E-Library is a plus because it does not require internet access, students just need to connect to the provided network that we set up, said Chinau.” Mr. Chinau said, they build the customized E-Library service from the client’s requirements and tailor the content that is suitable for them to use and access. “To build an electronic library, it takes us one week to build, according to our clients request and after that, we send down a team to do the set-up which takes about three-to-four days.” Mr. Chinau said the library is offline and not connected to the internet and many individuals and users are still confused. They think that the library is connected to the internet, but it’s not. “The library has an access point which serves a coverage of 300 meters or more. This depends on our client’s requirements we can always extend the boundaries of the Wi-Fi coverage that can go as far as 8, 000 meters.” Mr. Chinau explained that as long as the users are with the Wi-Fi coverage, they can have multiple devices accessing the E-library with a maximum of 3, 000 users. Wi-Fi devices such as mobile phones, tablets, a desktop computer, laptop and any other form of electronic device can connect and access it through a web browser. Chinau also said that the E-Library service has helped a lot of students and teachers across the country by enhancing their knowledge which are some of the feedbacks they have received. Chinau is calling on schools in the remote parts of the country that are finding it very difficult to access learning materials for their students to install the E-Library service because it is a best solution for them as it is accessible and does not require data or an internet connection, all they need is an electronic Wi-Fi device.

The National Aids Council Secretariat (NACS) is preparing to carry out more awareness programs, testing, care and support in the provinces this year as HIV/AIDS prevalence continues to increase in the country. Per statistics provided last year on HIV/AIDS, the total number had increased to over 59, 000 cases last year from the year 2021. Acting Secretariat Mr. Tony Lupiwa, said they will be engaging the Provincial Health Authorities (PHA) nationwide to carry out more educational awareness on HIV/AIDS this month. He said after the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is signed, prevention work will kick off starting with Enga and West New Britain Province and than to other provinces in time. “The public is advised to get tested and know their status before transmitting the virus to others unknowingly.” Lupiwa said, people who are at risk can come out and get tested and if the results are positive, they can be put on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) which can help them live a normal life instead of showing symptoms of the virus living within them. ART treatment is free and is provided by the government. “ART does not cure HIV/AIDs but helps prevent people from dying and allows them to live longer lives and as well as prevents transmission.” He added that, if a person is on ART treatment, they are not able to pass the virus to their partners or in the case of a child, the mother cannot transmit the virus to her newborn child as the ART treatment reduces the amount of HIV virus in the blood stream and hides it in the bone marrow. Mr Lupuiwa said, as HIV/AIDs is gradually increasing, people are urged to stay healthy and take care of themselves. “HIV/AIDS is still here and people must look after themselves by staying healthy and get tested to know their status.” He is urging people to stick to one partner or use a condom if they have multiple partners. He also said that, there is no cure for HIV but you can control it with the widely known HIV treatment, the ART which is free at any of the health centers in PNG.