WAMENA, Papua — The Papua Highlands Provincial Education and Culture Office (Disdikbud) has confirmed that the Papua Excellence Scholarship Program, which has been running since 2017, will continue through the end of this year.
The scholarship program provides educational support for Indigenous Papuan (OAP) students from the Papua Highlands who are pursuing higher education both within Indonesia and overseas.
Acting Head of the Papua Highlands Education and Culture Office Simon Sembor said the Papua Excellence Scholarship Program remains one of the education programs being implemented by the provincial government.
“The Papua Excellence Scholarship is a program that has been implemented since 2017 during the administration of the late Papua Governor Lukas Enembe, when Papua was still divided into only two provinces,” he said in Wamena on Wednesday.
Simon explained that following the administrative division of Papua into several provinces, responsibility for students from the Papua Highlands who had previously been under the Papua Provincial Government was transferred to the Papua Highlands Provincial Government.
He said the provincial government had committed to completing the program this year before introducing a new education program in 2027.
“We have ensured that the Papua Excellence Scholarship Program will end this year in accordance with the governor’s direction, as it will be followed by a new education program next year,” he said.
Of the 800 students registered under the Papua Excellence Scholarship Program, 300 have received support through to the completion of their studies.
Meanwhile, the Papua Highlands Education and Culture Office is currently supporting 500 scholarship recipients who remain part of the program originally launched in 2017.
“We are currently supporting 500 students who are part of the Papua Excellence Scholarship Program inherited from the program established in 2017. The program will end this year, with a total budget of IDR 50 billion being prepared,” Simon said.
Starting in 2027, the Papua Highlands Education and Culture Office will conduct a new data collection process for Indigenous Papuan students from the region.
The process is intended to ensure that scholarship recipient data reflects the latest conditions and circumstances of the students.
“This re-registration is important so that we can obtain the latest data on Papua Highlands students who are pursuing their education, from the first semester through the final semester. We need to determine whether there are students who have discontinued their studies or dropped out but are still receiving the scholarship, which will be a matter of concern for the provincial government,” he said.
Simon expressed hope that the educational assistance provided by the government would be used to the fullest by students from the Papua Highlands, allowing the scholarship program to provide meaningful support for the continuity of their education.
