Prime Minister James Marape assures Roselyn Alog and all students, either national or international who received acceptance letters to study at the University of Papua New Guinea that they (UPNG) are not in the business of turning away students and will not be turning away students this year.
Prime Minister Marape says the University of Papua New Guinea will honour the acceptance letter that was sent to Roselyn and they will also assist her and her family to come up with a plan to meet her tuition requirements.
He said in fact, the registration team at the University did not turn Roselyn away even after they found out that she has decided to honour her Filipina heritage by choosing to hold a passport for the Republic of Philippines.
Prime Minister Marape said because the student’s family is not here in country at the moment, the University has put aside the issue of full payment of her tuition fee and have assisted her secure lodging and she will be able to formally register today for classes.
He said, however, as Roselyn holds a Philippines passport, that makes her a Philippines citizen despite being born and raised in Papua New Guinea.
Therefore, as per the university’s guidelines on national and international students, she now falls under the category of International Student and will have to pay the tuition fee of an international student.
Prime Minister Marape says he knows that the erroneous headline and story on the front page of the Post Courier of the 2nd of February 2023 has caused so much distress for all students who are registering at the University of Papua New Guinea and assures them that all students, including Roselyn, who have received an acceptance letter from the University will be registered and where possible, assistance will be given to find other ways to pay off your tuition fees.
He emphasised that Roselyn was never turned away nor was she discriminated against.
All citizens of all nationalities who meet our institutions entry requirements are welcome to come and study in Papua New Guinea.