FOR?ALL?THE?DOUBLE MESSAGING we may have had of late from the Government, Minister of Education Ronald Jones himself has made it clear that any Democratic Labour Party administration will stay committed to continued universal free education for Barbadians.
He has given credence to the notion free education is an entitlement, and shall remain so, as long as the DLP is in charge.
Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler has pretty much endorsed the point, exhibiting his commitment in the promise to Sir Hilary Beckles to make good on the moneys owed the University of the West Indies.
Some educators hold this universal free education position to be extreme, especially in tertiary level funding in these hard economic times. Even so, the universal free objectors argue that the social development of Barbados may have removed the urgent conditions that made Government funding a necessity when the Cave Hill Campus was opened.
Among those who have argued again recently that some form of payment from students ought to be necessary as a revenue-raising measure for the continued viability of the tertiary system has been retired educator Dr Leonard Shorey. His structured method of recovery from the university student of some part of the economic cost of providing world-class education has been well aired; and is not without its merits.
But the pro-universal free proponents argue that tertiary education is of such import that any repayment chart for the Barbadian student is tantamount to a breach of faith by the progenitors of the system, which may pose some political fallout for the present administration.
Still, we need to engage some sedate discussion on the reform of the method of funding sooner or later, for the present situation in which the Government finds it necessary to guarantee the Cave Hill Campus’ borrowing of $41 million from the NIS in one instance, and to cover $100 million more in debt to the institution can neither be comfortable nor comforting.
But the Freundel Stuart administration – for the most part – seems determined to stick to the policy of free tertiary education. Laudable an objective though it be, one member has expressed concern about its rising costs.
Minister of Industry Denis Kellman has placed a sizeable portion of the blame at the door of the university. He accused the campus of “poaching” students who more properly belonged to the Barbados Community College, the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic and Erdiston Teachers Training College. Instead of UWI allowing students to “acquire an Advanced Level education that we have budgeted for, they . . . are leaving that cost there and then adding additional costs for us”.
When next Sir Hilary and the Government sit, this must be a point among the list of considerations.
