Higher fees force law student to drop out

A second year law student at the University of Papua New Guinea will be withdrawing from her studies this year due to the increase in tuition fees.
Mary Louise Avu, 34, from Gulf and East Sepik said she had no choice but to withdraw because she could not afford the K7500 tuition fee the university is charging.
Avu said she had received her Bachelor in Economics at UPNG in 2008 and joined the police in 2012.
“I applied again and was accepted to study law and went back to UPNG last year,” she said.
“This year, I am supposed to do my second year, however, with the school fee now K7500 I am not able to afford it and will withdraw from studies.”
Avu said that it was sad that even as a working woman she was not able to afford the fees.
“If I, as a working woman, cannot afford the fees, I feel even sorrier for those back in the village..
“Subsistence farmers and people from the informal sectors, how are they going to send their children to the university?”
Her father, Peter Peroe Avu, who is an former Correctional Services officer sympathised with her daughter, saying the fees were too high.
“I have six children but I was able to send them all to universities. I was able to afford the fees.
“Now as a retired serviceman, the little savings I have is for me and my wife and I am not able to assist my daughter as the fees are just too high.”
“Last year, we paid only K2999 and now it has increased by K4000 and I am not able to help my daughter.”