Hela tertiary students get K8.5mil assistance

By REBECCA KUKU
The Hela Government has funded K8.5million for school fees under its school fee support programme this year.
Governor Philip Undialu and his provincial government started the programme five years ago when he came into office, paying K6 million annually since then for Hela students school fees across the country and overseas.
However, Undialu said this year, the provincial government had budgeted another K2.5 million on top of the normal annual K6 million, to cater for more students.
“We have 120 institutions throughout the country and abroad with more than 4,500 students from Hela sponsored through this programme,” he said.
“We believe in empowering and building the human resource of our province. As I’ve said many times, oil and gas will one day run out, so we must invest in our human resource.
“These young women and men will one day return home and help to build the province.”
“We have been called names but we believe that Hela has changed, it is changing that is why we invest in our people.”