Government gives K15million to DWU for infrastructures

Minister Feo presenting the dummy cheque of K15 million to university President, Professor Fr Philip and University Council Chairman, Dr Thomas Webster, during the university's 44th graduation last Friday *(Image: NBC Owned)*

Divine Word University will now have a chance to increase enrollment and new infrastructures with the presentation of a K15 million by the government last Friday.

Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Kinoka Hotune Feo, presented the K15 million cheque during the school's 44th graduation in Madang.

Feo said that for individual institutions, they are required to submit their plans for the year, and so based on those plans, the government releases funds to support them and this money given was for infrastructure maintenance purposes, so they have good and new infrastructures and increase enrolment.

On behalf of the university, President Professor Fr Philip Gibbs thanked the government for the funding assistance, which he said will greatly help the institution with its infrastructure maintenance.

"There's a lot of infrastructural works that we need to do, and it is a very welcoming news that the fundings such as TESAS will be given to the universities sooner rather than later because last year was a bit difficult here.

"We had a cash flow problem last year because of the lateness in the release of these funds."

"I think DHERST has done what they can do in getting the warrants ready, but we somehow have to get it approved by finance, so it gets into the bank account," he said.

Professor Fr Gibbs also said, the late release of warrants, stating that sometimes it takes a long time for the warrants to actually get into the banks, and the funds are inaccessible for months.