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Parents and students were hoping to pay the fee from the Help loan.
But Professor Griffin said DHERST had informed UPNG that a student had to register first at the university before applying for a Help loan.
He said registration was based on paying the compulsory fee – something UPNG had no control over.
UPNG vice-chancellor Professor Frank Griffin … Help student fees assistance programme explained. Image: UPNG
‘Leave no one behind’
“So we went ahead and registered all students.
“But this year, the policy was changed by the department (DHERST).
“Last year, we did not get all of the Help funding.
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Universities in Papua New Guinea are looking to fill vacant spots in some degrees after a 50 per cent spike in the number of Year 12 students who failed high school in 2020.
Education authorities have blamed COVID-19 for the disappointing results, saying the school year was disrupted by months of lockdown.
More than 6000 students did not pass their final exams, compared with about 4000 the previous year.
University of Papua New Guinea vice chancellor Professor Frank Griffin said he hoped it was a one-off scenario. We were only dealing with a year that that was very much disrupted by a global pandemic, and that led to the students not performing as they were expected to, Professor Griffin said.