The Scholarship program funded by the Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) Trusts and Ok Tedi Development Foundation (OTDF) aims to provide further learning opportunities for men and women from the Western Province to continue their education through distance learning, technical colleges, and universities.
In 2020, the demand for scholarship positions increased due to more awareness being made. However, there was a slight decrease in scholarship positions due to more stringent selection criteria, with scholarships only being awarded to students achieving a minimum of 2.5 Grade Point Average.
Every year over 300 students who meet the requirements are sponsored to take up studies, with an average 100 students graduating.
OTDF, in partnership with Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) and CMCA Trusts, since 2015 has provided educational opportunities to students from the Preferred Area (Oksapmin, Telefomin, Olsobip) and Western Province of Papua New Guinea. Apart from other disciplines, priority is given to health, education, and agriculture.
According to the Manager Program Services Sustainable Development Andrew Mari, the Scholarship program has relieved the burden on parents and provided the opportunity for students to further their education, return and contribute to the development of the province and their communities.
OTDF CEO Havini Vira, expressed appreciation for the well-managed Scholarship and the Maritime support program. However, he acknowledged that effectively monitoring the progress of students after they graduate poses a challenge and believes there is a scope for further improvement.
So far 2,585 Western Province and PAD students have been sponsored by OTDF through the CMCA Trusts and OTML since 2019. OTDF is committed in contributing to the development of the human resource of Western Province and PNG.
