14/10/2025
EHP Students at UPNG Want Answers after Missing Out on Subsidy for Second Year
By CATHY AKORI
Eastern Highlands students studying at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) are voicing growing frustration after being excluded from the provincial government’s school fee subsidy program for the second year in a row.
Despite the Eastern Highlands Provincial Government (EHPG) disbursing K5 million in subsidies to various tertiary institutions across the country this year, UPNG EHP students claim they have been sidelined again.
The students have called the situation “unfair and unjust,” saying they met all the required criteria but were still left out of the subsidy rollout in both 2024 and 2025.
“We are proud Eastern Highlanders and part of the intellectual community . Yet we’ve been excluded two years in a row,” said Millan Usoni, President of the UPNG Eastern Highlands Students Union (UPNGHEHPSU).
Usoni clarified that UPNG’s new financial policy introduced in 2024, disallowed cheque payments and bulk deposits from sponsors. Instead, sponsors must now deposit tuition payments directly into individual students’ personal accounts, which are then used for online fee settlement via BSP Pay.
According to Usoni, the students proposed a workaround by suggesting that the EHPG deposit the funds into the Students Union’s account, allowing them to distribute the subsidy among eligible students.
However this proposal was allegedly ignored.
Furthermore, despite an official documents showing a K343,500 remittance advice from the Eastern Highlands Provincial Government (EHPG) dated 5 September 2025, intended for tuition payments for 173 students at UPNG,no such funds have been received to date, according to the university’s finance division.
"We now have the remittance advice, names, and amounts. But the university has confirmed that no payment has arrived in their account. What is happening between EHPG and UPNG?” The students questioned.
“We made efforts to engage with the Governor’s office, his first secretary, financial advisor, and the subsidy committee all were unresponsive. Emails and letters went unanswered. This silence is unacceptable,” Usoni said.
“We’re not questioning the Governor’scommitment, we applaud the K19 million invested over three years. But we are questioning the ex*****on, the communication, and the fairness,” Usoni added.
Meanwhile, the Governor has previously stated his continued support for education, saying, “Investing in human resource development has ripple benefits.”
However, students now demand that such statements be matched with action, especially for those at the country’s premier university.
The students have called for immediate dialogue and immediate resolution.