THE NCD EDUCATION SUBSIDY JOURNEY
PORT MORESBY: The 14-year journey of the education subsidy program in NCD has seen K70 million invested by the National Capital District Commission (NCDC) in more than 50,000 students attending various TVET and tertiary institutions in the city and around the country.
The three Electorates in the City have remained committed to collaborating with the NCD Governor, Hon. Powes Parkop, on this program which has empowered disadvantaged students and their parents and guardians.
Governor Parkop made these highlights during a cheque-presentation event hosted yesterday (Tuesday) by the Moresby South DDA and NCD Governor’s Office at the Don Bosco Technical Institute in #AmazingPortMoresby.
Local MP Hon. Justin Tkatchenko and Governor Parkop presented cheques worth K2.9 million to 38 institutions for 2,168 students who have secured the scholarships this year.
Speaking during the occasion, Governor Parkop stressed that the national government on its own cannot reach out to the thousands of young people, sayings more empowerment interventions such as this need to be initiated by lower governments to help meet this national challenge.
Governor Parkop continued that more platforms need to be created for young people to pursue their dreams. With 70 percent of our population under 30 years our country remains a country of youth and meeting the expectations of this youthful population must be one of our national priorities he reiterated.
“We must continue to reach out to our young people. They are the future of our young country. If we fail them, we fail our country.”
Governor Parkop reiterated that K5 million has been allocated annually to the Technical Vocational Educational Training (TVET) Scholarship and School Fee Assistance Scholarship (SFAS) since 2009.
Minister Tkatchenko thanked Governor Parkop for continuously supporting TVET programs for his electorate.
Since 2012, 1,000 students have been awarded the scholarship each year, of which a total of 11,000 have benefitted so far in Moresby South
Mr Tkatchenko attributed this success to a great partnership with Governor Parkop.
Both leaders challenged the students to work harder to attain good academic results and become good city residents to complement the massive investment.
They jointly urged the institutions to raise their teaching capability and programs to a higher standard. With the advancement of digital technology and artificial intelligence, we must skill our youth to be internationally competitive so they can find opportunities both in PNG and overseas, both leaders stressed.
Meanwhile, three recipients-Grace Gipe, a secondary school teacher; Tabe Jugari, a lawyer and pharmacist Christopher Samson thanked Governor Parkop and Minister Tkatchenko for the scholarship, which enabled them to complete their studies and realise their dreams.