By Colleen Barilae – EM TV News, Lae
The Morobe Students Union, comprised of tertiary students attending institutions across the country, staged a protest today in front of Morobe’s provincial administration.
It follows a change in policy in the ‘Gerson Solulu Scholarship Program’ which higher education students have used over the years.
The students say not much consultation was done before the amendments were made known to them for this year’s scholarship programs.
These Morobe students gathered at Morobe’s Tutumang Building this morning, voicing their concerns about the amended Gerson Solulu Scholarship guidelines, which have excluded most students.
Most of them, university and college students, questioned why the provincial government had ruled off sponsoring Humanities, Law and Agriculture studies.
A spokesperson of Morobe Students Union, Wodra Wai, questioned why self-sponsored students were given priority over students that were on TESAS scholarship.
According to the students, there was no awareness provided before changes were made in the scholarship’s guidelines.
This means most students at universities that offer agriculture and humanities programs like the UNRE, UOG and PAU have been left out from benefiting from the provincial scholarship program.
The Morobe Provincial National News Office Chairman, Andrew Gena, has however assured the students that a general meeting will be held on Monday together with other stakeholders and the governor to address the matter.
As the academic year begins next week, Morobe students are likely to begin with late registrations.
