Political row over law fees

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and former opposition senator Devant Maharaj yesterday accused each other's government of burdening repeater students at Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS), St Augustine, with hefty tuition fees of $94,000.

Maharaj in a statement, “Students suffer administrative incompetence at law school”, alleged that repeater students were asked to pay the full economic cost of their tuition just hours before registration. Hitherto all HWLS students paid just $13,000, while the Government subsidy of $81,000, but now some must pay the full sumof $94,000.

Maharaj said a delegation of students had asked him to represent them.

Al-Rawi yesterday told Newsday that Cabinet had not taken this decision, that he said had been made by the former People’s Partnership (PP) government, according to details given to him yesterday by HWLS principal Miriam Samaroo. “It was a decision of the Kamla Persad-Bissessar Government of which Devant Maharaj was a member,” alleged Al-Rawi.

He said 40 students will be affected by the removal of this subsidy.

Both Maharaj in his statement and Al-Rawi speaking to Newsday lamented that the change may hurt the legitimate expectations of the students.

Al-Rawi said, “I’ll make a diligent attempt to ensure fairness.”

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