Editorial

Govt Allocates $300M to Help Needy Tertiary Students

The Government has allocated a total of $300 million to help financially-challenged Jamaican students at the University of the West Indies, University of Technology (UTech) and the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI).

In announcing the Government’s commitment to assist the students facing financial hardships, Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator Ruel Reid said the allocation to the UWI was conveyed at last week’s meeting of the UWI Grants Committee at the Cave Hill campus in Barbados.

The funds from the Ministry’s budget will be made available as at September 2017.

In the meantime, amid reports that final year students at the Mona campus would be barred by the UWI administration from sitting final exams, if they did not clear outstanding arrears, Senator Reid said the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Dean-Roy Bernard was asked to arrange a meeting with the leadership of the UWI to find a solution to this matter.

Senator Reid said an assessment of the needs of current students will be done to determine what assistance can be provided through the Jamaica Values and Attitudes Project for Tertiary Students (JamVat) and the Students’ Loan Bureau.

“Any assistance will require community service and bonding,” he explained.

Article by: Ministry of Youth, Education & Information
Photo from: www.jis.gov.jm

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