Cassy sees Chinese scholarship as ‘dream come true’

By MICHAEL LAI
A woman, who was so “financially crippled” that she struggled to further her education, finally found relief on Friday when she was given a scholarship to study business management at Najing University in China.
Ruth Cassy, 22, of Mt Hagen, was one of 31 people given scholarships by the Chinese government in a ceremony in Port Moresby.
“Thank God for this opportunity,” Cassy said.
“I was financially crippled and could not go for self-sponsor in any schools.
“My dream come has true.”
Cassy is one of the thousands of Papua New Guinea students who chase limited spaces at universities and colleges every year.
About 25,000 Grade 12 students leave school every year, but only 12,000 places are available at universities and colleges, said Minister for Higher Education Science and Technology Pila Niningi.
He said the Government could not provide space for all of them.
“The Chinese government has fit into that gap through the scholarships,” he said.
Cassy was at Mt Hagen when she saw the scholarship advertised in the newspaper and flew to Port Moresby in April to apply.
“We should thank God for the opportunity,” Niningi said.
Ambassador Xue Bing told the group that the embassy had given 440 scholarships to Papua New Guinea so far.
Bing said education was a priority area in which China was focusing on in PNG.
One of the recipients of the scholarship was Minister for Transport Westley Nukunji in 1987. He studied at the University of Technology and returned from China to work in the oil and energy industry.
Another new recipient is Eki Jack, 23, from Wapenamanda in Enga , whose parents are subsistence farmers and live in the village. Jack said studying overseas was one of his dreams and travelling overseas would be the experience of a lifetime.
The students leave for China early next month. The scholarship covers tuition fees, allowances, meals and accommodation.