Extending TESAS and HELP to Postgraduate Study to Strengthen PNG’s Research Capacity

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by Bernard Yegiora

PNG’s 2026 National Budget allocates K30.9 billion with education positioned as a flagship priority under the Reset PNG@50 framework. With K4.9 billion committed to the sector, the government has stated its intention to strengthen frontline delivery, expand access, and improve learning outcomes. TESAS, HELP, GTFS, STEM initiatives, and teacher salary support dominate the structure of expenditure, signalling continued investment in student access and school-level capacity. This is necessary, but it is no longer sufficient for the national skills pipeline.

Screenshot from article publish on the TVWAN PNG News website

The core weakness remains unaddressed: PNG does not have a systematic strategy to build its research workforce. TESAS and HELP are restricted almost entirely to undergraduate study, despite the fact that national development depends on a tertiary sector capable of conducting research, producing knowledge, and training the next generation of professionals. As long as financial support stops at bachelor level, PNG will continue to rely on expatriate expertise, donor-driven technical input, and imported policy frameworks.

To raise academic standards, TESAS and HELP must be extended to Master’s and PhD students enrolled in accredited in-country programs, particularly those who are already serving as lecturers or tutors. These are the people responsible for shaping future graduates, yet they currently receive no structured financial pathway to advance their academic qualifications. Without funded postgraduate study, universities cannot build supervisory capacity, cannot strengthen peer-review communities, and cannot increase publication output. 

A university system without researchers becomes a teaching factory. This is already visible in PNG: low research productivity, limited journal contributions, outdated course content, weak analytical skill formation, and graduates entering the workforce without advanced competencies. Extending TESAS and HELP to postgraduate study is not a welfare measure—it is a capability investment aligned with state-building, economic diversification, and national security.

The budget already demonstrates fiscal discipline, narrowing the deficit and targeting a balanced position by 2027. Within this disciplined environment, reallocating a modest portion of the education envelope to postgraduate support would yield disproportionately high returns. A competitive postgraduate financing model will accelerate innovation in agriculture, health, engineering, ICT, mining governance, climate adaptation, diplomacy, and public administration—areas where PNG needs domestic expertise, not external dependency.

Furthermore, extending TESAS and HELP would professionalise academic career pathways. Universities would be positioned to require research engagement, publication output, and postgraduate qualification as conditions for promotion. This would align PNG with international benchmarks and strengthen accreditation standing across the Pacific and Commonwealth networks. It would also minimise the long-term financial and human capital losses associated with sending scholars overseas, where many do not return to contribute to nation-building.

The Reset PNG@50 roadmap stresses productivity, sovereign capability, and national resilience. These outcomes cannot be achieved without a research-driven tertiary system. Postgraduate financing must therefore be tied to PNG universities, research institutes, and national priority areas. This ensures that public funds translate into domestic expertise rather than external leakage. It also reinforces a long-term pipeline of academics who can supervise, publish, and lead reforms in their respective fields.

If the Government wants real value from the historic 2026 Budget, it must extend TESAS and HELP to Master’s and PhD students within PNG. This is how the country builds a self-reliant knowledge economy, lifts university standards, and strengthens national capacity. Access to undergraduate education is progress—but building a research-capable academic workforce is the strategic next step.

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