The University of Papua New Guinea has been forced to hike the compulsory fee it charges all students.
A mortarboard sitting on top of a stack of books Photo: 123rf
The UPNG's media director, James Robins, said a substantial fee increase was needed to meet the escalating costs the university was facing as it tries to cope with higher government charges and pressure to absorb more students.
The fees for 2018 have nearly been doubled compared with this year.
Mr Robins said the government had not been meeting its obligations to the UPNG and the university had been stepping in, but could no longer afford to do so.
"The government owes us a substantial amount of money through the HECA and TESAS scholarships - I think it is something about 3.6 million [kina] and we have had to carry that.
"And with other monies that we are owed by the government and various, shall we say, NEC[ National Executive Council] decisions, it's quite a large amount of money that we were carrying."