Tuition Woes
The first month has gone and we are already in the fifth week of the semester. The Cave Hill campus–the best of the three campuses–has suffered a noticeable drop in its population. It may not be noticeable to new students who enjoy, what was a luxury last semester, free benches on the Guild lawn.According to a September 10 article in the Barbados Advocate newspaper, the campus experienced a 28 per cent decline in student registration for the academic year 2014/2015 as compared with 2013/2014.
The article went on to highlight a 34 per cent drop in students entering the campus for the first time and a 45 per cent drop in students at the graduate level in general. This decline was attributed to austerity measures implemented by the Barbadian government which included discontinuing payment for tuition cost for Barbadian nationals.These are worrying times not only for the university but for the region. The Faculty of Law has implemented a "paperless" policy which forbids lecturers from giving students printed worksheets and reading material. Lecturers who were not so versed with the technology have now found a way to upload their required and recommended readings on our online database.
On the one hand as a budding lawyer, I am eager to put forward a case and demand what I am entitled to as a paying customer of the university, but on the other hand I am aware of the economic reality regional struggling economies are facing and as such, I choose to empathise.Admittedly, I accept that governments are not entitled to pay for our tertiary education and the nightmare that has dawned on Barbados is not far removed from the T&T reality. For the past few years, students have made it priority to listen to the live reading or reported version of our national budget.
This year, there was a great deal of relief after Finance minister Larry Howai said: "Mr Speaker, let me assure this Honourable House that this Administration will keep the Gate programme secure and sustainable."
GATE
Officials of the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Skills Training, particularly those responsible for the Gate programme visited the Cave Hill campus from September 15-19. The committee held a meeting on September 16 and remained available to address concerns about the new Gate e-service until September 19. On behalf of the T&T Student Association (TTSA) and its membership, I say a sincere thank you to Dr Michael Dowlath, chairman of the standing committee on the Gate programme and his committee for taking the time to meet with us.
Fun
On a lighter note, this month has already started with a bang. Literally. Students have been treated to festivities by the Students' Guild in varying forms of orientation initiatives. A highlight was the recently concluded Fresher's Fete, which saw soca artistes Hance John and Skinny Fabulous grace the stage at the SCR Car Park at the back of the Guild building. There was also an Expo hosted by the Guild on the Guild Lawn. The Expo provided an opportunity for students to become members of the Island Associations and other campus committees. TTSA was well represented and well received. TTSA sold buttons with the symbols of our national emblems, TTSA T-shirts and membership cards.
Budget
TTSA is a welfare organisation that is happy and willing to assist any T&T student financially or otherwise but it would be remiss of me not to encourage prevention over cure. I urge all T&T students to be cognisant of how much was spent this month and put measures in place to ensure that they spend responsibly and wisely. With that being said, TTSA "Is ah family ting."
Kyle Cox is the president of the T&T Student Association at UWI, Cave Hill, Barbados. His e-mail address is: ttsapresident@gmail.com. For more information about the TTSA, visit ttsacavehill.com