Institutions urged not to turn away students

By SAMUEL BARIASI and ZACHERY PER
DEPARTMENT of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST) secretary Fr Jan Czuba is urging higher education institutions not to turn away students who want to apply for the Higher Education Loan Programme (Help).
In a letter sent to all registered higher education institutions on Jan 27, Fr Czuba said all students in tertiary institutions could access a declaration form and state their wish to apply for Help.
“Please ensure that students are allowed to remain on campus to study, since we will pay for their fees under Help funding,” he said in the letter.
Henganofi MP Robert Atiyafa, who visited the University of Goroka (UOG) campus yesterday, raised a concern that students wishing to apply for Help were being turned away.
Atiyafa did not name the students but noted in general the situation confronting students not only at UOG but at other institutions.
“These poor students expected to be enrolled under the Help arrangement but the money for the programme has not been made available and Help forms were also not made available,” he said.
Responding to that concern, Fr Czuba clarified that the Help funding of K220 million was already put aside by the Government but the actual payment was going to be made once all necessary processes in finalising Help was completed.
“In the meantime, we will be paying the K68 million for the Tertiary Education Student Assistance Scheme (Tesas), which will be enough to keep institutions operating until payments for Help are actually made,” he said.
Fr Czuba said it was the institutions’ responsibility to explain that to students since information had already been provided to them.