Papua New Guinea university in crisis as reformist v-c flees

Papua New Guinea (PNG) prime minister James Marape has vowed to stop “institutional politics” from undermining the nation’s higher education sector, after a third expatriate vice-chancellor fled overseas.

In a 2 November statement, Marape described the abrupt departure of University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) boss Ian Findlay as “deeply concerning” and a “serious setback” for the country’s “premier” university.

“We cannot allow highly qualified professionals who…serve our country to feel threatened, intimidated or unsafe in our institutions,” Marape said. “We must recognise that nationalism at the expense of merit and productivity can undermine institutional performance. Our country must always put competence, professionalism and results first.”

In a resignation letter tendered the same day, having left the country the previous night, Findlay said his departure had followed “direct threats against my personal safety”.

The letter cites “persistent bullying, belittling and disrespect” from chancellor Robert Igara and the pair’s “irreconcilable views” about governance and management. Igara “actively” undermined the reform process and downplayed a “potentially life-threatening” campus riot, the letter says.

The chancellor’s “derogatory conduct” towards Findlay at a special council meeting on 28 October “marked the final straw”, the letter says. “This decision was not taken lightly, and unfortunately echoes the experience of previous expatriate vice-chancellors who sought to pursue reform in PNG.”

Dutchman Albert Schram, former head of the PNG University of Technology, fled New Guinea in 2018 after being detained over “ridiculous” accusations that he had falsified his doctorate. Schram’s troubles began in 2013, a year into his tenure, when he was prevented from re-entering the country after raising concerns about fraudulent infrastructure spending. He ran the university from Australia for 13 months until staff and student protests led to his 2014 reinstatement, but the council dismissed him four years later.

Welshman John Warren, who had led the University of Natural Resources and Environment (UNRE) since 2016, also fled PNG in 2018 after running foul of the university council – reportedly after appointing a pro vice-chancellor on merit rather than tribal allegiance – and incurring threats of imprisonment and death.

Findlay said he had received over a thousand requests from students and staff to return as vice-chancellor, along with strong support from Marape and higher education minister Kinoka Feo. But PNG rates among the world’s most dangerous countries, and Findlay said tribal violence often broke out for little reason.

He said that while the threats against him had been “implied”, they were extremely unsettling in such an atmosphere. “You can’t take the risk. Can I live constantly looking over my shoulder, especially after recent events?”

He rated improvements to safety, after he installed closed-circuit cameras and guards to check cars entering campus, among the most significant reforms of his tenure. “Before I arrived, there would be an incident every couple of days. There’d be an assault; there’d be a rape. After introducing these new security measures, we went nine months without any major incidents.

“Unfortunately, just a few weeks ago, we had a riot at the university because a student from one group shouted at another group. Luckily, security managed to separate the tribes because they all had bush knives and weapons. There’s been major riots at PNG universities every year or so, including several in just the last few months.”

Announcing his August 2025 appointment, the university council said Findlay had been enlisted to achieve “greater efficiency and integrity” in management operations and academic programme delivery. However, the chancellor had begun publicly disparaging him just two months later.

Findlay said PNG’s tribal system, known as “Wantok”, was “basically nepotism. You protect your tribe. It doesn’t matter how good or bad they are. If any jobs come up, you make sure your Wontok gets the job. I went into the university to try and reform, and fight against nepotism and corruption, and powerful people don’t like it. That’s where the pushback has been.

“If the chancellor actively disregards the government’s report on reform, and undermines me every time I try to introduce reform, what’s the point of being there? UPNG has real potential if it can truly reform by getting rid of the nepotism and corruption and focusing on improving academic quality.”

An independent panel which visited the campus in July, to assess progress against the recommendations from a damning 2025 audit report by the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST), commended Findlay for his efforts – especially around security, welfare and student support.

But the panel reported “particular concern” about UPNG’s governance and said its “otherwise positive view of progress” had been “marred” by interactions with the chancellor, who “verbalised a lack of support for the review process and its recommendations, dismissed the relevance of the review itself, initially declined to answer questions relating to the recommendations, and presented a combative demeanour toward the panel”.

Igara has stepped aside after Marape called on him to resign. The council has appointed pro chancellor Goiye Gileng as acting chancellor and Betty Lovai, pro vice-chancellor for academic and student affairs, as acting vice-chancellor.

Students staged a protest on 3 November to demand Findlay’s reinstatement, an explanation of the leadership changes and intervention from DHERST and the PNG Cabinet. Gileng told students that the council would appoint a panel to assess Findlay’s performance, and reportedly promised to discuss the university’s issues with minister Feo.

Marape said he was seeking agencies’ advice on “appropriate measures to address UPNG’s governance problems”, including overhauling the council and administration. “I intend to leave no stone unturned. We will examine the governance arrangements…with a view to undertaking necessary reforms in accordance with the law. We cannot remain silent when capable professionals are reportedly driven out of institutions that desperately need their expertise.”

THE sought comment from UPNG.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com