Student loan scheme vital

DESPITE the decision by the Government to relook at the University of Papua New Guinea 2018 fee structure, most students and parents can only afford the compulsory fee of K2939.
That, however, is only temporary and will be reviewed in May after the university sees how much the State has allocated to help funds its operations this year.
For the university, there is little, if any, choice; the decision to raise the fee resulted from the decrease in the annual grants from the Government.
The approved fee on Dec 12 would see students attending the Waigani campus this year pay K6500 in tuition fee; K645 in service fee; K330 in administration fee and K25 in SRC fee for a total of K7500.
The announcement to put on hold the increase in January means the compulsory tuition fee at the Waigani campus is K2436 (tuition), K431 (service), K50 (administrative) and K22 (SRC), for a total of K2939.
Most citizens will agree that despite the no increase, not all families can afford the board and lodging component.
Some families just had to dig deeper into the already depleted purse so their children can live on campus.
Most opted to settle the tuition fee first as classes are expected to start today and hopefully find that K9000 to be accommodated on campus.
Otherwise, for them, it means bunking up with relatives and friends in the city.
How can a family whose main source of income is the land and sea able to send a son or daughter to UPNG today?
In reality, entering UPNG and other universities is no longer for those who are academically bright, but only for those who have the money.
In several families, children will have to go without university education so one or two can make it through on the family’s small income.
Only a few thousand students would proceed to the next level, depending on the money they have.
The rest of the school leavers are now left to fend for themselves and mostly in the job market or in the cheaper private education institutions. That is unfair.
The problem is clear but the solutions are not so easy to come by.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill during a public forum at the National Research Institute last April talked about education being “first and foremost” on the People’s National Congress Party agenda. He mentioned the funding of a loan scheme where students are able to get a loan from Government so that they can educate themselves up to tertiary level.
A student loan scheme is what many countries.
Students can slowly repay their loans once they have jobs.
The scheme has worked elsewhere and there is no reason it cannot work in this country.
The scheme has worked elsewhere and there is no reason it cannot work in this country.
For it to work in PNG, it must be managed effectively and properly, so everyone especially students going to universities and tertiary institutions can benefit in the end.