NON-payment of tuition fees by the Solomon Islands Government on behalf of its sponsored students has forced Papua New Guinea’s University of Goroka to close its door on continuing and new students this year.

This means the government may now have to find new tertiary institutions for the students being forced out from Goroka University.

The University Council recently passed a resolution, which simply said:

“Due to the non-payment by the Solomon Islands Government of its million kina outstanding fee obligations to the University in respect of its sponsored students, no new SIG-sponsored students will be accepted and no continuing SIG-sponsored students will be readmitted in 2017 until the fee arrears are paid by SIG or for SIG.”

It is not clear whether students being affected have been notified by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development of the move. It is also not clear how many students will be affected.

Those familiar with the matter say tuition and other charges have been outstanding for the past three years.

“They have been accumulating since,” one said on the weekend.

Goroka University in Eastern Highlands of PNG specialises in teacher-training over the years. Many Solomon Islands students attend both pre-service and in-service training there.

It is not clear who is responsible for paying the outstanding tuition fees and charges.

Under a bilateral agreement signed with PNG in 2011, the Waigani government agreed to meet tuition fees of all Solomon Islands students attending tertiary institutions in PNG.

It is understood the agreement has since been revised but it is not clear whether PNG has abrogated its responsibility to continue to meet tuition fees of Solomon Islands students.

Last year the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development appointed a liaison officer to deal with student issues, including the non-payment of tuition fees.

Ms Claire Damutalau is based at the Solomon Islands High Commission in Port Moresby. The Ministry has another officer based at the Solomon Islands High Commission in Suva, Fiji.

The Ministry could not be contacted for comments on the decision by the Goroka University Council.