Refocus diminished education subsidy

IN TT'S current economic circumstances, it was clear that cuts had to be made, but the decision to reduce available scholarships by 75 per cent was dramatic.

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly announced the cuts on Friday.

There will now be bursaries for study at local institutions, and GATE subsidies will be maintained, though there will be new, major restrictions on that programme.

Students must be enrolled in a course that aligns with "priority areas for development," whose specifics were not announced last week.

In reducing state support for higher education, has sufficient thought been given not just to the impact on the country’s current finances and the immediate student population, but also to how these decisions will shape the future of higher education and hence of the country?

The nation should not have to wonder what the development areas favoured for study are.

They should be part of a coherent, well-articulated national plan for transformation that encompasses the private sector, the education sector and civil society.

As it stands, the education sector got the news along with the rest of TT, and the surprise and shock was widespread.

Vijay Maharaj of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha described the cuts as extreme. Catholic Education Board CEO Sharon Mangroo expressed concern that there were no scholarships for technical vocational subjects.

UWI St Augustine’s principal Prof Brian Copeland said the institution would turn to its plans for a GATE-less future and adjust accordingly.

In 2016, the GATE Task Force submitted a list of recommendations and an analysis of the programme. Some of the new measures reflect at least a general awareness of that document, which foresaw problems with funding the programme even then.

The report also pressed for more attention to be paid to the obligatory service element of GATE – which also applies to those who receive national scholarships – a system that too often results in trained but underutilised talent wasting time doing rote work in a government back office.

Far too much of the waste in scholarships and GATE was the result of government slackness in monitoring the programmes and the graduates, which encouraged abuse and misuse of the funding.

In identifying priority study, the Government should ensure that there is balance in subsidised education between hard sciences and the creative arts and civics. While it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking the arts and humanities are of no obvious practical value, this is not the case and advanced study and possession of a body of knowledge in any field are useful disciplines that can be applied in a variety of ways.

The country needs a range of capacity and scholarship to move forward in a world defined by rapidly evolving job evolution.

A knowledge-based society needs all the knowledge, not just narrow slices of it determined by government accountants.