The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Wednesday, September 18 2013
More than 100 Papuan students, who have been awarded full scholarships to study at top universities on Java, have discovered their places are at risk as the Papua administration claims it has no money to fund their travel costs.
The limited funding claim is distinctly questionable as recently elected Papua Governor Lukas Enembe and dozens of regents and officials are slated to fly to Hawaii in the US this week, at the taxpayers’ expense.
The students comprise a second batch of 208 students who received scholarships from the central government this year. The provincial administration had agreed to cover their travel expenses from Papua to their respective universities.
"More than half of the students risk losing their scholarships because the administration claims it has no money to cover their airfares," Ichwanudin Mawardi, the planning deputy of the Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B), said on Wednesday.
"Ironically, the administration has more than enough funds to go to Hawaii," he said.
A flight ticket from the provincial capital Jayapura to Jakarta costs at least Rp 3.5 million (US$350), which is equal to one day’s pocket money that will be allocated to each official traveling to Hawaii.
Ichwanuddin said that if the students failed to arrive in Jakarta and enroll by Sept. 20, the universities would cancel their places, which would effectively terminate their scholarships.
Neither Lukas nor the Papua administration spokesman could be reached for comment. A staffer at the Papua administration said the governor was currently returning to Papua following a visit to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, where he attended a gathering hosted by the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI).
According to sources at the administration, the trip to Hawaii was aimed at forging a deal between Cenderawasih Univesity in Jayapura with the University of Hawaii.
Resource-rich Papua is Indonesia's most eastern and least developed province, which has long been plagued by pervasive corruption and a separatist movement.
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wo 18 sep 2013 - 21:00