WHP pays subsidies to unis, colleges

By PIUS MON
THE Western Highlands provincial government has begun distributing school fee subsidy payments to all its tertiary students around the country.
The delegation, led by Muglamp LLG president and education chairman William Noki, Governor Tom Olga’s executive officer Joe Het, media personnel and other officers, began the cheque presentation last Thursday.
The presentation of cheques to students attending the University of Papua New Guinea, Pacific Adventist University, University of Goroka, Divine Word University, PNG University of Technology (Unitech), all teachers and nursing colleges, and others is only for those students who applied for the scholarship scheme initiated by the provincial executive council.
Presenting a cheque for K70,500 to University of Goroka students, Noki said education was one of the key pillars of progress.
He said the province was emphasising on education as it did not have any natural resources to back its economic base.
He said investing in human resources was the way forward for Western Highlands and the provincial government was vigorously driving the education policy with a funding of K3 million beginning this year.
He said an educated population would help contribute to the development of the province.
Noki said the subsidy was a relief for poor parents who were struggling to pay school fees for their children.
Het also shared the same sentiments, adding that investing in human resource was the way forward for the province.
He said Olga was not only subsidising school fees for students but emphasising maintaining existing school infrastructure
He said building new school infrastructure was a waste of resources and that maintaining and expanding existing facilities was a more convenient way of taking education to the next level.
Western Highlands students president attending University of Goroka, Elijah Apulgti thanked Olga for the initiative.
The delegation travelled by road from Hagen to Goroka, then down to Lae last Friday and over to Madang on Sunday.
The team will return to the province today after completing the presentation of cheques while another team has flown to Port Moresby to present cheques for UPNG and PAU students.