Several private tertiary education institutions are faltering in financial accountability and need to urgently strengthen their record keeping and reporting obligations, as these relate to the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (Gate) programme. This was revealed in the final report of the Standing Committee on the Gate programme dated August 27.
The report showed for the period June 2010 to January 2011 some institutions did not maintain proper student records with regards to attendance or proof of success/failure in examinations; had never submitted reconciliation statements; had no record of students in their systems for which Gate claims were made and paid.
Also unearthed was that some institutions claimed for more academic credits than were actually attempted by students, and institutions accepted students with entry requirements below that required for some programmes. To ensure accountability, each private tertiary education institution is required to "...designate at least one member of staff to monitor the institution's compliance with the agreement and act as a liaison between the parties."
However, public education institutions are exempt from audits to verify their degree of compliance with record keeping and reporting obligations for Gate approved programmes. The report stated: "This is because these institutions are expected to act in the best interest of the State and to prudently manage their financial affairs."
At the start of the new semester, thousands of students attending the three public tertiary institutions were refused Gate access because of poor Grade Point Averages. The committee was established by Cabinet in 2011 to provide strategic and operational direction to the Gate programme and was chaired by Jwala Rambarran until he became Central Bank Governor in July this year.
One of the terms of reference of the committee was to review applications for funding by institutions and make recommendations to Tertiary Education Minister, Fazal Karim. Since Gate was introduced in 2004, 43 local private institutions have received funding. For the period 2005 to 2011 Gate funding was distributed as follows:
�2 $1.559 million to local public institutions.
�2 $1.278 million to local private institutions.
�2 $150 million to regional public institutions.
�2 $54 million to regional private institutions.
Four local private institutions: University of the Southern Caribbean; The School of Business and Computer Science; Roytec and the School of Accounting and Management, were given $900 million in funding over a six-year period. At the regional level, approved public tertiary education institutions received a total of $149 million in funding.
The report stated that much of the rapid increase in Gate funding took place when the economy was experiencing strong economic growth and rising government revenues. "Today, Trinidad and Tobago's economic situation is markedly different, characterised by sluggish growth, weak confidence and falling government revenues. "Against the backdrop of a turbulent, global environment, the country's economic prospects remain difficult, at least over the next few years."
The report added that as a result of this development, a decision is required on a way forward for the Gate programme in the context of securing expansion and sustainability of the programme. Tuition fees at approved local private institutions increased from an average of $7,940 in 2007 to an average of $13,031 in 2011, or approximately 64 per cent. To fund a student in such an institution increased from 13 per cent for 2007 to 2011, which far exceeded the average inflation rate of 9.2 per cent over the same period.
