District continues to support tertiary students through scheme

By JOACHIM LOLOK,
UPNG Journalism Student
THE Kokopo district in East New Britain continues to support its people with a scholarship scheme for students attending tertiary, college and technical institutions across the country annually.
The scholarship scheme was introduced in 2017 and has helped parents send their children to tertiary institutions. A final year business accounting student at the University of Goroka Francis Mandring thanked the member for Kokopo and Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Emil Tammur for the initiative which had benefitted him and many other students.
“A lot of our parents are subsistence farmers who sell their crops such as copra and wet bean (cocoa) to financially support us in our education,” he said.
“But as the crops such as cocoa were destroyed by termites and insects and the prices of the buyers dropped, our parents found it very difficult to support us.
“Thanks to the Kokopo District Scholarship Scheme, our parents took a little breather,” Mandring said.
Kokopo District research officer David Hoskin told The National on Friday that it was the district’s initiative to give back to their people to help build their province.
Hoskin said the district administration had allocated funds for different institutions in its 2020 academic year budget.
Hoskin said the administration planned to make the scheme a long term programme for the district.