PM assures parents on tuition loans

PRIME Minister James Marape says the Government is committed to assisting university and tertiary students pay their tuition fees through an endowment.
Marape said students would borrow the money and commit to repay it once they were employed.
He made the remarks in response to questions about the endowment fund which he had announced a month ago.
He told The National that parents, particularly those in rural communities, would also be required to participate in agriculture and growing cash crops for the children to borrow against.
“It’s not free money,” he said.
“You borrow against the funds and your parents must have some agricultural activities happening so that we all participate in growing the economy.”
“Its work in progress and I will give a full detailed statement on this programme.”
Marape said in order to benefit from the loan scheme, interested students would have to be registered under the National Identity and Civil Registry and needed an acceptance letter from the institution they last attended.
Women’s activist Mathilda Pilakapio commended the Government for the initiative.
She called on the Government to put legislation through Parliament to enact a law on the fund.
Pilakapio urged the Government to consider 20 per cent of the Sovereign Wealth Fund for the endowment fund rather than the seven per cent as suggested by Marape.
“If you have 20 per cent you can pay seven per cent of school fees but the 13 per cent balance goes into investment to make money to go back into this fund so you stop borrowing from the Government,” she said.
“It becomes an independent fund and it can be reduced to 15 per cent in 10 years’ time then further reduced to 10 per cent and stop there.”