TUITION FEES for 8 000 Barbadian students at the University of the West Indies (UWI) will cost the Government $35 million from its current $4.3 billion budget.
This assertion was made yesterday by Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley as debate continued in the House of Assembly on the 2015-2016 Estimates.
Speaking on Head 77, the Ministry of Education which is allocated $489 million, Mottley reiterated the Opposition’s position on tertiary education – following the August 2013 decision by Government to charge students tuition fees amounting to 20 per cent of the costs – that it should remain free. 
Recalling Prime Minister Freundel Stuart’s earlier position that it would be a “retrograde step”, Mottley indicated the Opposition’s philosophical position remained that “tertiary education must be provided to the citizens of this country free at the University of the West Indies. (AB)
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