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HEW postpones NMC hearing
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Posted on Mar 09 1999
The House committee on Health, Education and Welfare postponed its scheduled hearing yesterday on the Northern Marianas College due to failure by NMC officials to submit on time documents requested by the panel.
It will resume tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. today at the House chamber where college officials are expected to answer inquiry on the operations of the on-campus bookstore and other auxiliary services.
It will be the eight in a series of investigation into the cash-strapped state college and the government scholarship program, which the House committee called last January.
The panel received documents from the NMC board of auxiliary services only yesterday morning, forcing HEW chair Rep. Heinz Hofschneider to call off the hearing to give them time to look over the records.
The NMC bookstore has come under close scrutiny after students have complained of exorbitant prices on such items as pencils and calculator as well as alleged monopoly and unfair practice for forcing them to purchase their supplies there.
The hearing is also expected to discuss the School of Education and other college programs of CNMI’s lone higher learning institution, according to the panel.
During the last hearing held last week, the committee disclosed an in-house report that partly validated its findings regarding allegations of mismanagement and inconsistency in implementing policies approved by the NMC board.
The public is welcomed to present testimony which the committee will use to draft a comprehensive report on the college and the CNMI scholarship program as well as assist in future legislation.
