​Governor Sia Assures Eastern Highlands Students of Continued Support

​Governor Sia Assures Eastern Highlands Students of Continued Support

Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Highlands Governor Simon Sia has reassured university students from the province that his government remains committed to funding their education despite administrative delays.

Responding to concerns raised by Eastern Highlands students at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG), Governor Sia said their complaints were valid, explaining that students were entitled to the funds allocated under the provincial subsidy scheme. He noted that since taking office, his administration had spent over K30 million supporting education programs, including tertiary subsidies and school facility improvements.

“No Governor before me has started this kind of subsidy. I saw how hard our rural farmers struggle to pay school fees, so I decided to help through this program,” he said.

Sia denied claims that UPNG students were deliberately left out of the program in 2023 and 2024, stating that a cheque worth K339,900 was prepared for payment but was rejected due to UPNG’s new banking policy banning bulk deposits. “They missed out because of their policy, not because of us,” he said.

He also disclosed that student leaders had proposed transferring the money to their association or directly to individual accounts, but he declined, describing the move as risky. “That’s daylight corruption. I will not allow that,” he insisted.

Governor Sia explained that the delay in the 2025 subsidy payment resulted from the Department of Finance’s transition to a new cloud-based payment system. However, he confirmed that the provincial government had successfully processed online payments totaling K343,500 for 173 students.

He encouraged students to verify the transaction with the UPNG bursar and apologized for the inconvenience caused. “We must continue to support you with your school fees. That commitment remains unchanged,” Sia said.

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