Students applying to tertiary education institutions to pursue studies at the start of the new academic year beginning in September have been advised to continue doing what they need to do as they await Cabinet's decision on the future of the GATE programme.
Revealing that he will be submitting the 70-page report, which contained an executive summary, various analyses and recommendations, to the Cabinet tomorrow Education Minister Anthony Garcia speculated the nation could expect answers within two weeks.
Confirming he had received a copy of the report from chairman of the Task Force, Errol Simms, promptly at 8 am yesterday Garcia said it was "very detailed" in its findings.
Speaking during a media briefing at his St Clair office yesterday, Garcia refused to divulge any of the recommendations as he stressed Cabinet first had to deliberate on it before he could say anything further.
However, he admitted: "The report was very detailed so I suspect that Cabinet will require some time to really digest the entire report."
Pressed as to how long that might take, Garcia added: "That might take one week or two weeks. After that, then we will release the findings and recommendations to the national community."
Minister in the Ministry of Education, Dr Lovell Francis, was also presented with a copy of the report.
The ministry's permanent secretary was asked to prepare the Cabinet note which will accompany the report on Thursday.
Questioned how this process could affect students seeking to enroll at university and other tertiary education facilities as to the certainty of their education's financial status, Garcia assure:
"We will do everything to ensure that the report and recommendations are made available long before the opening of school."
Acknowledging the "tremendous work done by the committee in compiling this report," Garcia urged anxious students to continue to follow the required enrollment processes at the educational institution of their choice.
Introduced in 2004 by former Prime Minister Patrick Manning, the Government Assisted Tuition Expenses (GATE) programme offered students financial assistance for tertiary-level education by covering 100 per cent of tuition expenses for undergraduate students and up to 50 per cent of tuition expenses for postgraduate students.
In March, Garcia announced a task force had been set up to investigate the operations of the GATE programme for the past 11 years and determine if it was making any significant contribution to the nation's economic development.
He said a total of $5.58 billion had been spent over 11 years to assist 194,000 students at 65 educational institutions.
Garcia said there was a general lack of data on graduation rates, employment figures, market demands and student migrations, as well as a lack of monitoring and tracking of students funded by GATE.
The task force mandate included reviewing policy guidelines on GATE, reducing the overall cost of GATE funding, a set criteria for the eligibility of programmes and institutions.
For the fiscal period 2015/2016, $650 million has been allocated to the education sector.
The Task Force, chaired by management consultant Simms included Theresa Davidson, director of Funding and Grants, Ministry of Education; Neville Niles, education research specialist; Dr Gaylene Holdup, Scholarship and Advanced Training Division, Ministry of Education; two Finance Ministry representatives; a Planning and Development Ministry representative; a Labour and Small Enterprise Ministry representative; a Tobago House of Assembly (THA) representative; Dr Rolph Baloghia, T&T Manufacturers' Association.
It also included Natasha Subhero, T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce; Richard Saunders, campus registrar, UWI St Augustine Campus; Dr Ruby Alleyne, quality assurance, UTTA; Dr Harrison Guy, Human Resource Association of T&T; Dr Foaled Mutato, Women's Institute for Alternative Development (WINA) and the president of the Guild of Undergraduates at the UWI, St Augustine.