Uni raises concerns on govt support

THE University of Goroka will end what has been a challenging 2020 academic year this week, Chancellor Joseph Sukianomb says.
He said the university managed to get by through managing its academic programmes so that minimum standards were not compromised, while meeting the protocols required in managing the impact of the Covid-19.
He said another factor that impacted the university’s ability to operate properly was the Government’s direction at the beginning of the year to register students without paying the required fees.
He said the university complied by registering the majority of its student body before fees were paid.
Sukwianomb said nearly 1,500 students were allowed to register and commenced classes.
He said the university had not received scholarships money under the Higher Education Loan Programme (Help).
He said K8 million in Help funding had not been remitted to the university accounts to date.
Sukwianomb expressed concerns over the Government’s failure to fulfil its Help commitment that resulted in the State owing the university more than K10 million.
He said the challenges faced by the university and other institutions were the financial gap for to function for the remaining year.