I never thought this issue would cause me to feel such conflict.
I have followed the discussion over the introduction of either a user fee or some similar mechanism designed to make students pay at least a minimum cost towards tertiary education.
The current discussion has come to the fore in the context of Government’s outstanding bill to the University of the West Indies (UWI) and it appears that there is some positive traction for such a proposal.
The discussion, of course, is not new. I remember being devastated over eight years ago when I first heard this notion that students should be made to pay for their university education. It was one of those defining moments for me because I never believed, up until that time, that I would be sitting across a table debating the importance of free tertiary education in Barbados; I took it as a given.
At that time the proposal was justified on the basis that there was no appreciation for the sacrifice being made to afford the opportunity, and that students were simply liming on “The Hill” and taking forever to complete degrees at taxpayers’ expense.
I knew then, as I still know now, that there was no way I would have been able to attend the Cave Hill Campus had there been even a minimum cost attached to my degree.
The United States is where you go to become a superstar or a millionaire overnight. Barbados is the place you want to be born because if you are not lucky enough to achieve either of the above, it’s the place where good quality education is free regardless of colour or status; that’s how I see it.
I knew quite a few of my friends who perhaps could have excelled at UWI but circumstances were such that looking for a job and contributing to the household had to be a priority. During my entire time at UWI I bought one book. I was a library “rat” out of necessity, not choice, but I am acutely aware that “free” still comes with a cost.
Some of us see through rose-coloured glasses in Barbados. We have delusions about the level of affluence that permeates this society and the existence of real poverty which makes even the provision of lunch money and books a challenge. Mechanisms for “helping the needy” often help the needy stand out. Free education for all equalizes everyone whereas a special scheme for those who cannot pay makes them the “special people”. Of course, a higher degree of private philanthropy could help by increasing scholarship opportunities for entry into university.
In recent times I have become a little more attentive to arguments which suggest that perhaps the society and those paying taxes to provide others with this opportunity actually get little developmental capital back.
We have a large portion of students who pass through UWI and then go on to study oversees, often never returning, having built their foundation on this initial investment. There is no way for the country to recoup this cost and it becomes a relative loss for society.
On the other hand, we have a larger portion of graduates who leave UWI and settle down into “humdrum” jobs in which they never use one iota of anything learnt at the tertiary level. Again, very little return on a large investment.
Don’t get me wrong, UWI has been able to produce some excellent students and academics who have gone on and will continue to go on to lead distinguished careers, contributing tangibly to their respective countries and regional development. However, it is within the right of this society and the taxpayers to demand that we get greater bang for our investment.
We are not, I am assuming, supporting students to get a job and get a fat pay cheque. We are supporting you because of the potential to contribute to something greater and more long term. I am in full support of some sort of bonded arrangement or a social equity swap in which students volunteer in some social development initiative.
Increasingly, the argument for continued support of free education has to be met by some measure of sacrifice on the part of beneficiaries.
• Shantal Munro Knight is a development specialist and deputy coordinator at the Caribbean Policy Development Centre.
