The Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Mr. Kinoka Feo, recently addressed concerns regarding outstanding payments to universities and colleges, including those related to student tuition and operational costs such as the TESAS funds and the HELP Loan Scheme. The Minister's comments came in response to a statement that was released by Divine Word University's Student Representative Council (SRC) and administration. The minister who spoke to PNG HAUSBUNG, acknowledged being aware of the general concerns, even though he had not yet seen the specific statement from Divine Word University. However, he was aware that the statement likely pertained to delayed payments for student tuition and the operational funding universities rely on. “We were able to pay almost three-quarters of the first semester payments as of Wednesday the 25th of June 2025 with the remaining quarter of the payments still awaiting clearance. “In fact, I was advised by Finance that we have raised all the checks already but were still awaiting clearance in which he was advised as on Wednesday that the checks had in fact been cleared.” Meanwhile, he was advised by the Finance Minister that the final quarter for the first semester payments should be cleared by next week. “This check payments includes all universities and colleges as well as the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP).” He further acknowledged that previous delays have prompted concerns amongst tertiary institutions and colleges, however, expressed confidence that all first-semester payments would soon be fully resolved.