Chief Sec: Disbursements were made for Tobago students in Jamaica

THA CHIEF SECRETARY Farley Augustine has assured that the disbursements for Tobago’s university students studying at the Mona Campus, Jamaica, were made.

“The university students, their disbursements are being received late. But I can tell you that all disbursements were made so no one should have any problems of being put out of anywhere this semester,” he said on Wednesday at the post executive council media briefing at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex.

“As a matter of fact, they wouldn’t have been put out because we would have ensured that all monies would have been remitted, especially before final exams starts in earnest.”

Students have reportedly said they were on the verge of being evicted from their dormitories owing to the late payment of funds from the THA to cover their expenses.

The Department of Advanced Training and Advisory Services (DATAS), which falls within the purview of the Division of Education, Research and Technology, is responsible for the administration of bursaries, grants and scholarships to Tobago residents who wish to pursue tertiary education.

Augustine said the Ministry of Finance’s allocation, which deals with financial assistance for the programme, was $500,000.

“I can tell you at this point we spent that $500,000 already and we just spent $900,000 in this second semester,” he told reporters.

“It means that we are not only executing the programmes but we are finding a way to go above and beyond what is allocated for. And the finding of that way, requires us moving monies around to be able to facilitate that.”

Augustine said such actions were common in governance.

“There is a circuitous root to being able to go beyond what is allocated to facilitate as many people as possible. So already, we are helping more students than what was allocated for.”

He said for several years, the THA was not even spending $500,000 on this programme.

“But we recognise, with the GATE (Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses) slowly closing, we have to help more Tobago students. And we will find a way to help them. So even if your money come late, we are finding a way to help more people than was allocated for.”

On the Minority Report on Tuesday night, Minority Leader Kelvon Morris urged Augustine to address the issue of outstanding disbursements post-haste.

“The current chief secretary studied in Jamaica and he was also a beneficiary of this bursary from DATAS. And I am sure that the very PNM that he has castigated, chastised, I am sure without fear of contradiction that he could never accuse the PNM of not honouring that bursary while he was there.

“So he didn’t have to benefit from this trauma that these persons are going through at this time because the PNM made it a priority to ensure that it secured the funding so that our scholars outside did not have to have that kind of worry.”

He accused the administration of failing the students.

Minority councillor Petal Daniel-Benoit said the students should not have to experience undue stress.

“There is stress when you have to do exams. Some people break out, some people experience all sorts of things. So you are dealing with the stress of an examination and you also have to deal with the stress of not having the financial support, not being comfortable with your room and board.

“I am sure that undue stress is not doing anything positively for the students particularly being away from family because most of them are there by themselves and as young adults this is probably their first experience living away from home. So just imagine the trauma.”

Daniel-Benoit believes the matter should be a priority.

“To me, this is a priority and it's something immediate. And it has to be addressed with the level of urgency that it requires. It goes back to planning and prioritising. I think that this should be one of the priorities of this administration.”

Education Secretary Zorisha Hackett said funding had been a challenge.

“Moving around money based on priority is usual in the divisions. Never enough funding. So much to do with so little resources. I just want to rectify the situation,” she told Newsday via WhatsApp.