by Eric Haurupma – EM TV, Port Moresby
East Sepik tertiary students have expressed concerns about the of delay subsidy payment by their provincial government for the 2015 academic year.
Students have demanded the provincial government to fast-track the subsidy payments that were committed early this year.
East Sepik university students gathered yesterday at UPNG on behalf of other fellow students to express their sentiments about their school fee payment.
After the provincial budget was passed last week, there is no official document specifying an amount for the subsidy payment.
University student, Elias Joromo, said that since independence, the East Sepik Provincial Government has failed big time to invest in initiatives which build up its human resource capacity.
Many students who come from the rural areas are affected by this because they depend heavily on their parents from the wages sourced through the selling of local produce and commodities, especially cocoa.
However, while the cocoa pot borer is causing a decrease in the cocoa production rate in the province, parents have been faced with the challenges of raising their children’s fees.
The East Sepik Provincial Government has failed to initiate policies that can facilitate the provision of scholarship schemes that ease the financial burden of paying students fees.
Sharing these sentiments with fellow students in the country, the UPNG’students are now appealing to the East Sepik Provincial Government to fast track processing their subsidy payment.
A petition was delivered to East Sepik Governor, Sir Michael Somare last week through Maprik MP John Simon, with a two-week ultimatum to get a positive response from the government.
Eric Haurupma is a UPNG Journalism student.
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