Historic vote: Parliament approves country’s first medical university
In a landmark decision for the nation’s healthcare and education sectors, the Papua New Guinea Parliament has unanimously passed the bill to establish the country’s first-ever University of Medicine & Health Sciences [UMH] last Thursday.
The bill passed with an overwhelming 76 -0 vote, cementing a journey that began over a decade ago as a student-led dream.
The vote marks the final legislative hurdle in a long-running campaign, first ignited by passionate students at the University of Papua New Guinea’s [UPNG] School of Medicine & Health Sciences [SMHS] between 2013 and 2015.
At a time when the idea seemed bold, these students stood alone in pushing for a separate institution, a vision that UPNG’s administration was not ready to express.
Dr Olmi Wemin Jr, an army Major in the PNGDF, who was the ex-SMHS Student President for two consecutive terms from 2013-2014 and 2015, recalled, “We were branded as Ring Leaders, and now we must be recognized as Heroes.”
Dr Wemin said, “We fought for a medical university in our medical school days, and now they are all professionals serving this beautiful country. Now, I am a Major in the PNGDF, and I am doing my master's in medicine in China.”
“The sacrifice and hard work have finally paid off for those individual students back in 2013 & 2014,” a statement from proponents of the vision declared. “Time has passed for them, but the Vision lives to take shape finally.” He said.
The journey to this historic moment was driven by the SMHS Student Representative Council (SRC), which hosted three annual celebrations at the Taurama Campus promoting the idea of an independent medical university.
These events helped build support and eventually brought the proposal to the Medical Society of PNG and the national government.
Momentum grew when the government backed the idea by allocating funds in the 2023 national budget.
With Parliament now passing the UMHS Bill, that vision has become a reality, creating a dedicated university for medical training and research in PNG.
To honor those who started the movement, a proposal will be made to build a monument at Savari Triangle, near the future university’s administration building.
The monument will honor the “Fathers of the Vision,” ensuring their contribution is remembered as part of the new university’s history.
They were branded as “Rings Leaders,” now they must be recognized as “Heros!”
A roll of honor has been circulated, naming the key architects of the dream: · Dr Wemin Olmi, Dr Berry Newman, Dr Ema Awa, Dr Kelvin Kalate, Dr Krond Mond Jnr, Dr Janeth Lama Mond, Dr Peter Londary Inina, Dr Herman Kapie, Dr Erick Mange, Dr Iso Moreo Bilgan, Dr Matthew Mongolap, Lorraine Umaropi, and Spencer Peter Wangare
“The passage of the bill is more than just an administrative change; it is the culmination- the highest point- of a powerful story of student advocacy, proving that a student’s cry of We Can Be a university can, indeed, resonate all the way to the highest chambers of the nation and shape the future of a country,” Dr Wemin said.