Opposition: TFF cut not researched

THE Government’s 50 per cent cut on the Tuition Fee Free (TTF) policy and introduction of the Higher Education Tertiary Student Loans have not been properly researched, says Shadow Minister for Treasury and Finance Joseph Lelang.
Lelang said 40 per cent of the country’s total population fell below the age of 15 and most were in school currently from elementary to high school as a result of the TFF.
“The 50 per cent cut is shortsighted and will condemn many our of children of which the majority would be girls to the streets given parents were given only six weeks’ notice to pay school fees,” he said.
“This is a very bad policy, many families are struggling and asking why the government could do this to them.”
Lelang called on the Government to delay the new policy for another one to two years to give parents time to adjust so that Papua New Guinean children were not forced to leave school.
He also said the Government’s interest free tertiary loans scheme had also raised many questions.
“Is the Government ready to roll it out in 2020? This policy has the potential to create chaos and confusion of significant proportions if the administration, management and guidelines of the new scheme are not fully understood by the students,” Lelang said.
He said enforcing and recovering student loan overtime was and would always be a problem especially in a developing country like PNG.