Divine Word University in Madang has recently announced its 2021 student fees will see an increase in the fees.
President, Fr. Phillip Gibbs says the university council had made the decision in 2019 but put it off due to covid 19.
Divine Word University President says the university has not been getting support from the government.
They were supposed to get over a K13million from the government but received only K1million this year. The university needs at least a K3million to run its operations on a monthly basis.
Fr. Phillip says the university council has decided to increase the fees because the cost of living has also gone up.
Also, the current fees students are paying are subsidized fees, meaning at the moment students are paying K10 thousand per year when it is really costing the university K25 thousand-kina year for a student.
The President also pointed out that the university has not received HECAS and TESAS government scholarships.
The university is now looking at shortening the school year by a few weeks to save money.
However, the school may start to borrow money in order to keep the school going.
The President denied any rumors of the university threatening to terminate students if they speak out on issues concerning the university.
