K30mil approved for Help

By SAMUEL BARIASI
PRIME Minister James Marape launched the Higher Education Loan Programme (Help) on Friday and announced that K30 million will be paid to higher education institutions that registered students under Help.
He said Cabinet had “released a warrant for K30 million” from the initial K238 million allocation for Help.
“The Department of Finance is working to ensure the balance of what was warranted is matched with cash and we will find the rest to ensure that first and second semester fees are covered,” he said.
Marape also announced that K8.8 million was approved by Cabinet to invest in the digitalisation of the higher education sector.
He explained that the Government was trying create a “pool of fund” that would be available so that Papua New Guinean children were not leaving school because they could not afford higher education.
“This is not intended for the Government to make quick money out of,” Marape said.
He said Help was interest-free, unlike the commercial banks where money borrowed was expected to be repaid with interest over a period.
“We are not (saying) that which you have to repay within five, 10 or 15 years.
“Let it roll for the rest of your life so you take time to repay as long as you live.”
Marape said he did not believe in handouts and urged students to lift the burden off their parents by borrowing from Help.
“Free handouts will kill and poison your mind and everybody should be contributing to the growth of this country,” Marape said.
He said Help would be refined to a self-sustaining endowment fund.
Meanwhile, 29 new positions have been created for Help under the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST), Department of Personnel Management secretary Taias Sansan said.
“We received the submission for a restructure in March.
“We had a look at it and I have approved the restructure,” she said.
She explained Help was a division within DHERST.
“I want to make it clear that these positions are within the current budget ceiling for this year so there is no new creation.”