Commitment to support students in province will continue

By LUKE KAMA
HELA Governor Philip Undialu says the commitment to support tertiary students from the province will continue this year under his leadership.
Undialu gave this assurance to parents and students from Hela yesterday, as the school year for 2020 approaches and to clarify doubts and misunderstanding concerning the Hela Undialu Education Foundation (HUEF) programme.
“My commitment to support tertiary students is a term commitment and there is no need to ask whether or not we will support this year,” he said.
“We have invested K12 million in 2018 and 2019 and will continue to support as long as I remain governor.”
He said the Hela government would hand down its budget next week and they would try their best to step in quickly to assist the students before the 2020 academic year starts in next month.
“But it all depends on cash flow and therefore, parents are asked as usual, to ensure their children are assisted to enrol,” Undialu said.
He said the scholarship provided by Hela government under the HUEF programme was not a full sponsorship.
“It only offers support to the struggling students and parents and is part of our government’s duty and responsibility to help our people and enhance development.”
Undialu also announced that the idea to tie down school fees to the coffee programme had been pushed forward to next year.
“This is because this year, Hela government will start coffee nurseries which take around 10 months to grow.
“By November, about 15 million trees will be available for planting and the programme will be tied together next year,” he said.