The University of Papua New Guinea’s Council has imposed a graduation fee of K600 to ‘tie up’ everything that has happened in 2016.
Certain regulations and fees were enforced in an effort to address costs incurred during last year’s student unrest, and the new graduation fee is one of them, Acting Chancellor Dr Nicholas Mann tells Loop PNG.
“Other universities have that graduation fee while UPNG, in the last 50 years, did not. However, we are going to start come this graduation,” says Dr Mann.
He explains that the fees will be used for the staging of the graduation on July 28.
“You would notice that the graduation fee is just one of the fees that have been enforced or increased. But UPNG still charges the lowest fees, compared to the other universities.”
Furthermore, Dr Mann says the institution cannot depend on the Government for funding. UPNG has only received K5 million of the K12m that was promised by the Government last year.
“When the money is there then they give so it’s precarious.
“The fees that have been put are basically to bring UPNG up to the same level with the other universities.”
(Loop file pic)