Scholars need $

THE EDITOR: As a winner of an Open Scholarship in 2014, I am honestly concerned about the level of disrespect towards national scholars and guarantors lately. Stipends are due to be paid quarterly in advance for the following three months. Payment is usually made at the beginning of March, June, September and December. At the time of writing this, many national scholarship winners, including myself have not received their quarterly stipends, due from the beginning of September 2017. In addition, another stipend payment for the beginning of December which is also now due has not been received.

A scholarship is not a handout or a favour given out by the government of the day. Rather, it is a rigorous contractual agreement in writing, where, in consideration of the government’s payment of tuition funding, costs and maintenance allowances, scholars undertake to provide much-needed skilled labour to the public sector for such a period proportionate to the value of the funding received. Scholars are, therefore, required to maintain good grades, discipline and report back to the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to seek employment and contribute to the development of the country. In light of the failure of the Government to make the required payments on time, many national scholars now have to worry about not being able to continue to pursue their studies at their respective universities, as we are being faced by demands for the monies owed by the Scholarship and Advanced Training Division (SATD) of the Ministry of Education. Receiving a tertiary education already has its challenges and this added burden has made it harder for students to focus on their studies as many have to worry about being kicked out of our residences because the money that should have been used to pay rent (coming from our stipends) is yet to arrive. This is particularly a challenge for students like myself who are studying overseas.

What is most appalling, however, is the fact that calls to the SATD offices and e-mails remain unanswered. A letter sent out from the Ministry of Education to Scholars dated October 6, 2017 stated that monies should arrive, by latest, November 30. Since December 1, nobody at the SATD office has had the common curtesy to respond to phone calls and/or e-mails from concerned students and guardians as to why monies have not been received. Is this the “reward” that we get for studying hard and achieving in the CAPE exams?

We understand that the country is facing economic challenges but to leave students in the cold is inexcusable. At the very least, the SATD can be honest with us and say that they do not know when the money will arrive.

The overwhelming majority of scholarship winners has the patriotic desire to contribute to society using the skills that they have received while in university.

However, if the SATD continues to mistreat scholars and not uphold their end of the agreement, then upon finishing their service to the country, the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago can expect more of the brain drain that continues to plague our society, as the best and brightest young minds will seek employment elsewhere.

Disgruntled Scholarship Winner via e-mail