Students to protest fees

 More than 3000 East Sepik tertiary students in the country will stage a protest because their provincial government had failed to pay their tuition fees.   

The students will stage a protest in their respective schools to vent their frustration over the failure.

East Sepik Tertiary Students’ Union secretary Lucas Kosek said they were assured by their provincial government that it would pay their fees.  Kosek, who attends the University of Goroka, told The National last Friday that the provincial government had done nothing so far. 

The union has more than 3000 members attending universities, colleges, vocational schools and technical institutions in the country, he said.   

“On Jan, 17, we gave a petition to the provincial government in Wewak to pay our school fees,” Kosek said.

“Ian Samuel, the deputy governor of East Sepik, told us that there was K2 million available to pay students’ tuition fees.

“But lately, the provincial administration said a different thing.

“They said the governor (Sir Michael Somare) refused to sign the documents to make it become a policy because the provincial executives did not meet to discuss the issue.”

He said the reason for the protest was to make the East Sepik provincial government realise its failure.

“Students will do a sit-in-protest in front of Sir Michael Somare’s office in Port Moresby,” Kosek said. 

“I have organised the East Sepik students here in UOG and by Monday everybody will be on strike in the school campus,” Kosek said.