Gentle reminder about UWI's MPA offer

THE EDITOR: I would like to thank Opposition Senator Wade Mark for following up with Minister Allyson West about the status of the remote work policy for the civil service, because like everything else with the PNM, it is always a work in progress, ongoing, coming soon and a promise that never materialises, so make sure and vote for them.

Supplemental question to the honourable minister: What is the status of the MPA-UWI Learning and Development Programme?

Applicants received an e-mail from the Ministry of Public Administration on September 19 stating that they were in processing applications for the first cohort and that cohort would be contacted by UWI to commence the programme.

We are approaching February 2025; what's the keepback? Has the first cohort been contacted and currently enrolled and Kendell Karan just doesn't know or got left out?

Or is it just another gimmick to quiet the public service from ongoing wage negotiations?

If UWI is the roadblock, good, then that means that the government is the problem.

For UWI to go out of its way to offer this programme to public servants, it will cost it something to pay its staff, prepare course learning material and siphon physical and remote resources from several faculties to deliver this programme, so means that Minister West needs to march into Cabinet, pinch the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Education and prime minister-designate Stuart Young and get on real bad for an increase in salaries for UWI lecturers and an increase in subvention funding by 15 per cent to UWI.

So, Minister West, a very gentle reminder.

Kendell Karan

Chaguanas

via e-mail