BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A decades-old government policy that has enabled hundreds of Kittitian and Nevisian students to matriculate to the University of the West Indies (UWI) is undergoing a drastic change.
Under the existing economic cost programme, the burden of UWI tuition was eased for citizens of the Federation who were desirous of pursuing an advanced degree at one of the institution’s main campuses in Jamaica, Barbados or Trinidad and Tobago.
The government would pledge to provide the lion’s share of the student’s tuition, and in return he/she would sign a bond of intent to work in the Federation for five years after obtaining their degree.
Manager in the Human Resources Department Heather Richardson said an average of 50 to 60 persons, including new and continuing students, are granted economic cost each year.
The government spends an estimated EC$750 000 to EC$1M on annual funding for the programme, which has existed since the Federation became a UWI-contributing country in the 1950s.
Richardson said that in most cases, as much as 80 percent of tuition is paid on the student’s behalf, but was quick to stress that the government did not employ a set percentage approach.
Now, persons are no longer guaranteed the security of government funding after they’ve been accepted to UWI.
Instead, according to a post-cabinet briefing earlier this week, “students requesting government assistance for tertiary education would first have to explore the option of the Open Campus of UWI.
“If the course being sought cannot be pursued through the Open Campus, then consideration may be given for a programme to be pursued elsewhere.”
The Open Campus, located on Horsfords Road, gives persons the option of working towards a degree while staying on-island and continuing their professional careers.
It has maintained a presence in St. Kitts for several decades and, according to a 2006-2007 estimate, had 345 students enrolled in its distance education programmes.
Cicely Jacobs, an administrative assistant at the St. Kitts Open Campus, said there are currently six undergraduate and three postgraduate degrees offered through the institution. Students normally take four to five years to complete degree requirements because of the programme’s part-time nature.
Minister of Education Hon. Nigel Carty told SKNVibes the Cabinet decision was taken to ensure fiscal stability, lower public spending and return the St. Kitts-Nevis economy to a position of growth.
“The government devised a special programme through the Open Campus to ensure our citizens would have more access to pursue UWI degrees. Potential students will first have to check whether or not their studies can be pursued through distance education.
“One may be able to make allowances to enable some students to go off regardless, but it is a policy decision we intend to firmly adhere to,” Carty said.
For students whose programmes cannot be facilitated through the Open Campus, the government will continue to subsidise their tuition, but will be increasingly particular about granting assistance.
Carty said this was not a reflection on public finances, but rather the government’s way of educating more persons while simultaneously keeping costs down.
“No government has the money to educate all its citizens. What we are saying, going forward, is that there is this new avenue for persons to explore, and policy will be shaped in such a way to guide them to this new process,” he explained.
“We will be giving more of our citizens an opportunity to access tertiary education, but they will be doing so in a manner that is cheaper for them and us. Any sensible government, having two options, would obviously choose the more cost-effective one.
“Once someone wants government support, they must provide justification for it. It doesn’t make sense for us not to utilise the Open Campus if it is available,” Carty argued.
The Education Minister admitted that the on-campus experience was an important part of tertiary education, but stressed that if the “economics” were not compatible with being on-campus, then the government’s position would fall.
He also noted that there was nothing preventing financially capable students from matriculating abroad on their own expense.
Crios Freeman, a UWI graduate now employed in the Office of the Prime Minister, was highly complimentary of the economic-cost programme, calling it “an investment” in the country’s youth and future prosperity.
He described how the programme had enabled him to access higher education at a favourable cost.
“I only had to pay about US$2 500 or so each year for my tuition. That’s obviously much less than I would have had to pay unassisted. With the package, someone can reasonably go through their three years of school and only have to pay EC$60 000 on overall expenses.
“I’m happy the government provided me with that opportunity, and has continued to provide young persons with the opportunity to cheaply access higher education. It’s really a great investment and I think more of us should appreciate it.
Freeman supported the Cabinet’s move, insisting that since the Open Campus was in operation the government was within its rights to use the facility to reduce costs.
“At the end of the day, wanting the on-campus experience is not sufficient justification. The government has to economise. People are always saying what they want, but they don’t associate it with the cost the government has to pay,” he reasoned.
Renal Edwards was recently accepted to UWI’s law programme and has already applied for economic cost. She has yet to receive an official response but is hopeful of success so she can matriculate to the Cave Hill campus (Barbados) in September.
Edwards disagrees with Freeman and highlighted that many young students look forward to leaving home and experiencing university in another country.
“Economic cost is a brilliant idea because students here know that if they can’t afford to go anywhere else, they can always go to UWI and get their degree there. It’s something that a lot of us depend on.
“But we want to have that university experience – to be on-campus, to join clubs, to live on our own and to make connections we can’t get here. I think going abroad gives us more opportunities to find employment and to grow intellectually,” said Edwards.
“I think the government should reconsider and let persons decide if they stay or go. It’s an experience that I and everyone I know wouldn’t want to have taken from them,” she added.
