Deal with tertiary financing once and for all
Published:Tuesday | October 30, 2018 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
The debate about the funding of tertiary education has once again resurfaced.
On October 29, 2018, The Gleaner reported, 'UWI gets tough - Hundreds of students deregistered over tuition fees'. The article said, inter alia, "Approximately 800 new students of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, have been deregistered for failing to pay their tuition fee or arranging a payment scheme, and there are claims that more than twice that number of returning students have met the same fate."
This pronouncement is emblematic of a serious problem facing our education system - the vast majority of our students matriculating to tertiary education simply cannot afford it. The options of financing are inadequate, and this inevitably creates a disparity in terms of access for our nation's youths. Many of our high-school graduates are not able to pursue their dream of tertiary education because of the financial obligations attached to it.
It is, therefore, incumbent on the Government of Jamaica to devise a policy for financing tertiary education. The object of such a policy should be that all students, irrespective of their financial standing, are able to pursue their tertiary education. The future of our nation depends on our ability to educate and advance the human capital of our nation.
Finally, the Government must act strategically, looking at the bigger picture and devising the best policy of financing the tertiary education sector. The future of our nation rests on the Government's ability to do so.
ALANZO JOHNSON