Indonesian govt ensures scholarship continuity for Papuans

Jakarta, February 2 (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Home Affairs has sent a team to Papua to guarantee the budgeting and sustainability of scholarships for Papuan students located in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and others. In his statement here on Wednesday, Director General of Regional Financial Development Agus Fatoni explained that the technical team had met with the Papua provincial government in Sentani, Jayapura. "The minister of home affairs has assigned us to ensure the scholarship budgeting for (Papuan students) abroad. We would go back if the meeting with the Papua provincial government is already completed," he stated. Fatoni affirmed that coordination among the central, provincial, and district/city administrations was the key to ensuring the success of the scholarship program bearing in mind the fact that the increase in the capacity of human resources is targeted under President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi's) priority program during his second term. According to Fatoni, the international scholarship payments for Papuan students in 2021 would be completed on the basis of invoices or bills from each university, while a financing scheme had been readied for the 2022 scholarship requirements. On the other hand, the Papua provincial government has planned to hold a coordination meeting on February 15-18, 2022, to discuss and follow up on the scholarship financing. Some earlier problems regarding scholarship had been discussed by Indonesian Ambassador to the United States, Education Attaché at the U.S. Embassy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Papua provincial government, Fatoni remarked. In addition, Head of the Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDM) in Papua attributed the payment delay for the 2021 scholarship to the fall semester invoice being sent late to the Papua provincial government. The Papua administration has also set the budget for all scholarships in 2021 and 2022, according to the Head of the Regional Financial and Asset Management Agency in Papua.