Academics leaving universities for higher paying public sector, study

An Australian academic is calling on the government to help Papua New Guinean universities retain academics, who are leaving in droves for the public sector.

Australian National University Professor Stephen Howes says PNG's universities offer mediocre pay compared to government departments and state-owned enterprises, causing academics to leave and costing the university program quality and diversity.

He says it would be in the Australian government's interest to help remedy the situation.

"I would certainly call on the Australian government to step in and just fund a couple of lectureship positions and advertise them in PNG but also in Australia, just as a short term measure to get more people in there," he told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat program.

"I think if you can get a circuit breaker once you get more faculty you'll be able to teach more students, you'll also be able to make the job more attractive to candidates further down the road."

A study by ANU and the University of Papua New Guinea has found high numbers of academics leaving universities for the public sector, particularly in the economics field.

UPNG has the only economics department in the country. The number of full-time lecturers over the past few years has ranged between two and zero.

Professor Howes says the exodus of academics could cause serious brain drain in certain fields.

"It's become a bit of a vicious cycle where if you don't have lecturers you can't train many students and you can't mentor them to come forward, and if you don't have many lecturers you don't have an attractive or vibrant work environment," he said.

"At some point you have to address the pay issue as well but if you could just get a few more staff in you'll break the vicious cycle and be able to make a real difference."

The study found that PNG academics are not underpaid, but at a middle range by international standards, but the economic boom in PNG is causing public sector salaries to soar, drawing experts away from lower-paying university jobs.

"It's gotten worse with the economic boom because that's meant that these other entities that have more autonomy have been able to increase their salaries and attract workers away," Professor Howes said.

"If you look at it relative to their other opportunities then you can see why a number of academics have left."

Source: ABC Radio Australia