SHARLENE RAMPERSAD
The University of the West Indies’ (UWI) St Augustine Campus Student Guild says they are relieved that their tuition fees will not be increased as the Government cuts the subsidy to the university.
Speaking to Guardian Media on Thursday, after the announcement was made by Finance Minister Colm Imbert at a post-Cabinet press conference, guild president Kobe Sandy said the guild was a part of consultations between UWI and the Government over the last several months.
Imbert, who also sits on the University’s Grants Committee, announced yesterday that the campus has been instructed to tighten its belt, with its funding from the State cut from $517 million annually to $465 million.
The university will have to cut down on over 300 programmes it offers to save money.
Yesterday, Sandy said this was a major improvement to the alternative proposed by the university–increasing tuition fees.
He said the guild was invited to respond to the university’s proposal to increase tuition fees during consultations with the Government.
“I am happy to see that the Government would have listened to the guild’s presentation and concerns on the tuition fee increases, because any tuition increase now in the way in which it was proposed would certainly hurt the student body,” Sandy said.
He said students were currently being faced with a myriad of financial challenges and many would not be able to afford increased fees.
“Students are going through a lot of trying times, especially when we have a reopened campus.
“We have to find other money to come up, to travel, to be accommodated, to feed ourselves, so it would, of course, be a relief in the short term as of now, to the student body,” Sandy said.
But he said while this decision comes as a relief, the guild still has concerns about the UWI’s operations.
“We must look at the UWI’s financial predicament, look at the contributions by the Government and the student body and other means of resources to fund the campus and, of course, have a plan to shield the campus and the UWI,” Sandy said.
However, he said he would continue to advocate for students to be protected from having to bear the brunt of “unfair increases.”
