PRIME MINISTER FREUNDEL STUART says tertiary education in Barbados will remain free across the board, dismissing suggestions that only the “less well off” should receive state subsidies.
And, he insists that reintroducing tuition fees would be a step backwards in the country’s development.
Addressing the 38th graduation ceremony of the Barbados Community College (BCC) on Sunday night, Stuart said that the country’s model of free education across the board was admired and praised by international development agencies for its extraordinary emphasis on human capital and the contribution it had made to the country’s exemplary progress.
On the other hand, he said, Barbados was continually being badgered by international financial institutions to end “unsustainable entitlements”.
However, the Prime Minister told those gathered at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex: “I firmly believe that it would be a retrograde step if we were to dismantle equal access to education by the reimposition of tuition fees at the tertiary level.
“Universal access to tuition-free education was a deliberate piece of social engineering that has delivered handsomely on its investment. It has helped to create a large and vibrant middle class and a relatively prosperous and enlightened citizenry who enjoy a high standard of living,” he added.
Noting that education had been both an equalizer and stabilizer in Barbados’ society, Stuart said the waiver of tuition fees remained the only fair way to provide equal access to tertiary education for those who met the academic eligibility criteria.
This “free” education, he said, also meant that students could enter the workforce without the added burden of having to repay student loans or grants.
In drawing reference to the education system in the United States, Stuart noted that the student loan debt was now estimated at US$1 trillion, which surpassed even credit card debt.
He said that led to students defaulting on federal loans at a rate of almost nine per cent.
“This means that our students can start their working life unencumbered by the massive debt burden that is crippling young graduates in more prosperous jurisdictions,” he said. “But it also means that there is an expectation that what has been invested in you will be recouped by your performance in the future.”
He pointed out that there was no profit motive in the running of tertiary institutions in Barbados, only the challenge of cost recovery which was largely due to state subsidy.
And with Government spending over $1/2 billion every year in education costs, the Prime Minister said it was important for those persons who benefited from that state subsidy to give back to society.
A total of 1 365 students graduated from the BCC, an institution which also boasted two Scholarship winners and eight Exhibition winners during the academic year. (RB)