Govt wasting money with duplication of degrees at UTT

THE EDITOR: The Government will present the 2019-2020 national budget in Parliament on October 7.

The presentation comes in the wake of the retrenchment of 199 non-academic workers at the University of TT (UTT) last month.

In May last year, 59 workers were also retrenched by the university.

These retrenchments have come about because of the drastic decrease in the budget allocation to UTT by about $200 million. The Government provides the bulk of funding for the operation of its national university.

There is much wastage of taxpayers’ money at UTT through duplication of programmes that are already being offered by the University of the West Indies (UWI) in St Augustine.

One example is criminology. The other is Carnival studies at the Academy for Arts Culture and Public Affairs at the UTT John Donaldson campus in Port of Spain.

The head of the programme earns a gross salary of about $50,000 a month. He also has another job at UTT as a member of the board of governors. The number of students in this academy is about nine. Through UTT, the Government is spending about $92,000 on each student a semester.

A degree in Carnival studies has long been offered by the Department of Creative and Festival Arts at UWI.

Besides, where can one find a job with a degree in Carnival studies? Why duplicate it at UTT? Why waste taxpayers’ money in the budget?

Footnote: Is there a degree in Divali studies or Hosay studies anywhere?

SHERRY HOSEIN SINGH

Claxton Bay