[UPDATED] UWI confirms: Tuition fees will not increase in September

The University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine has said its tuition fees will remain the same for the September semester but has recommended an increase in student fees going forward.

In a media release on Friday, UWI responded to the Government’s decision to cut its funding by ten per cent and proposed an increase to the programmes covered under the Campus Grants Funding. This proposal was rejected by the Government.

UWI said while it recognised and empathised with the concerns expressed, the campus has been operating with the same fees for the past 21 years.

It acknowledged that it was costly to run the institution because it has grown to meet the needs and standards of internationally accredited higher educational services.

“UWI St Augustine fees are currently the lowest in the UWI system and among tertiary education institutions in the Caribbean. The proposal that went before the Government and UWI seeks to align its tuition fees with those at other campuses.

“Tuition fees for the upcoming semester will therefore remain the same, consequent to the Government’s position. The campus will be required to operate with considerable reduction to its finances and, hopefully, with minimal disruption.”

UWI said it was working on documentation requested by the Government about the proposed student fees increase for the 2023/2024 academic year and also working on improving its operational efficiencies.

In an earlier release, UWI said it reduced expenditure by $200 million but that was later revised to $115 million.

“Over the last six years, the campus has reduced its actual operating expenditure for Campus Grants programmes by $115 million (net of provisioning). Overall staff costs have essentially remained unchanged, despite increased costs due to settlement of union agreements.

“In fact, the campus has successfully operated below budget for the past five years and has been commended year on year by technocrats at the Ministries of Education and Finance for its good fiscal management.

“For the past four years, the campus has been managing with a correspondingly reduced TT Government subvention of $517.1 million. As reported yesterday (Thursday), it will be in deficit this year due to the cut of funding by ten per cent.”

At Thursday’s post-Cabinet media conference, Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced the cut in support for the institution, which he said was about $500 million annually, with additional assistance from the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (Gate) costing about $200 million.

Imbert, who chairs the UWI Grants Committee said while the Government could not tell the institute how to run its affairs, suggested that some of its courses be cut.

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadbsy-Dolly, who was also a part of the committee, said an increase in fees would mean students would have to endure increases between 25-27 per cent.

This story has been updated to include additional details. Read original below:

In a statement, the UWI has confirmed it will not be raising tuition fees for the upcoming semester, in keeping with the government’s recommendation.

On Friday, the university’s marketing and communications office issued the statement in response to the government’s decision to cut funding to the university by ten per cent.

During a post-Cabinet briefing on Thursday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said the government met with the St Augustine Guild on the issue of raising fees, which would have seen students paying between 25 and 71 per cent, depending on their course of study.

Imbert said while government could not tell the campus how to run its affairs, it was suggested that some of its 300 courses be cut. He said the campus will now have approximately $450 million in subvention as well GATE funding from the State.

UWI's statement said, “The campus executive management team recognises and empathises with concerns expressed, especially as it relates to students and prospective students.

“It was for this reason that the decisions to propose fee increases was made with careful consideration of the impact to all involved.”

UWI said, while it was reported that campus costs had increased because it had grown beyond what its resources could bear, higher enrolment was a major cause for increased costs.

“More than a decade ago, government imperative to increase the tertiary participation rate (defined as the number of tertiary level graduates in each age cohort, as a percentage of the total number of persons in that cohort in the population) was based on the principle that tertiary level education is a key factor in moving from developing-nation status to first-world status.

The sector responded, fuelled primarily by the current GATE programme and its predecessors.”

It said over the last six years, the institution had reduced its actual operating expenditure for grant programmes by $115 million and staff costs had essentially remained unchanged, despite increased cost owing to settlement of union agreements.

“In fact, the Campus has successfully operated below budget for the past five years and has been commended year on year by technocrats at the Ministries of Education and Finance for its good fiscal management.. For the past four years, the campus has been managing with a correspondingly reduced subvention of $517.1 million. (The university) will be in deficit for the first time in a few years in 2022 due to the ten per cent cut in funding.”

It said the provision of quality internationally accredited higher educational services to the region is costly and reiterated Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly’s sentiment that fees had not increased in 21 years.

“It was last changed before many of its students were born,” UWI said. “UWI St Augustine fees are currently the lowest in the UWI system and among tertiary education institutions in the Caribbean.

“The proposal that went before the government and the UWI seeks to align its tuition fees with those at other campuses.”

The statement said the documentation requested by the government, in preparation for a discussion for an increase as of academic year 2023/2024, is in progress and added the campus has been working to improve its operational efficiencies in the past few years.