THE increase in tuition for students of the University of Guyana (UG) will place an additional demand on the Government of Guyana’s UG Student Loan Fund and several students have expressed concern over whether they will be able to access the increased amounts.

However, Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, has assured that the matter is being addressed by Cabinet.
“I learnt of the decision on Wednesday, but I can assure that the matter of the increased tuition is engaging the attention of the Cabinet and we will need to reflect on the fullness of its implications…a menu of measures is being considered, but no decisions have been taken as yet,” he said in an invited comment.

“I can assure that the matter of the increased tuition is engaging the attention of the Cabinet….a menu of measures is being considered, but no decisions have been taken as yet.” – Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh

The University of Guyana’s Administrative Council on Tuesday unanimously voted for the current tuition fees to be increased for the 2014-2015 academic year, which starts in September. The adjusted fee applies to both new and continuing students who are pursing programmes.
A significant percentage of UG students access financial support through the UG Loan Fund, which is a revolving fund that receives an annual injection from Government, from which disbursements are made, and are refinanced by repayments from students, as well as the continued annual support of Government.

REPAYMENT CONCERNS
According to the Finance Minister, the compliance as it relates to repayments by students who would have benefited from financial support is less than desirable.
Dr. Singh said: “As we confront the issue of adjustment of tuition fee and going forward how we evolve the Student Loan Fund; at the same time we are also weighing the various dimensions that are involved in relation to non-compliance….the repayment of student loans is equally attracting the attention of the Cabinet.”
Last month, he addressed this matter and stated that alternative courses of action to encourage greater levels of repayment will be taken in the coming months.
“This is something that we recognise in Government and I believe that corrective action has to be taken to achieve higher level of compliance and a higher level of repayment,” the Finance Minister stated.
Dr. Singh noted then that the repayment of the loans, which attract a “very low” interest rate, is very poor, with millions owed by students who were beneficiaries.

BUDGET CUTS
An additional challenge is the fact that the total allocation of $450M was chopped from the National Budget by the combined Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) in a parliamentary vote.
Since then, only half of the monies have been restored by the Finance Minister – a move that has seen him referred to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee.
The combined Opposition contends that spending authorised by Dr. Singh, including the $225M for the UG loan fund, were “unconstitutional” given that the monies restored were not approved by the combined Opposition.
Prior to the restoration of the sums, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Jacob Opadeyi, in an interview, had noted that if the loan subvention for the University of Guyana is not restored by the National Assembly then the students would be placed in a dire situation as a result of the severe crisis being ensued at the tertiary institution if the decision to cut the subvention was not reversed.
However, the two parties maintain that the allocation for UG was linked to other provisions for which they were opposed and, given the ruling by Acting Chief Justice, Ian Chang that individual line items could not be cut from the Budget, the entire sum, which included the student loan monies was removed.
The Government, in turn, has underscored the fact that the National Budget is presented in the same format it has been for several years now and no allocations are linked, as is being claimed by the Opposition, but listed under the relevant section in the estimates as per normal.
The student loan allocation was listed under the Ministry of Finance’s Policy and Administration capital budget. Over the years, a vast majority of the student population at the country’s premier tertiary institution has benefited from such loans and a large percentage of prospective and current undergraduates depend on them.

NEW FEE STRUCTURE
Continuing Guyanese students will pay an incremented increase beginning with $130,000 in 2014, $145,000 in 2015 and $160,000 in 2016, in addition to the $50,000 Facilities Fee, which replaces the various miscellaneous fees, previously paid. Fees for the following programmes will not be adjusted: Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Science Degree in Optometry, Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Imaging, Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing, Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy, Bachelor of Science Degree in Rehabilitation Sciences, Bachelor of Science Dental Surgery, Masters of Science in Environmental Management, Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Management-Climate Change and Disaster Management & Natural Resource Management, Bachelor of Law, Commonwealth Master of Business Administration, Commonwealth Master of Public Administration, Master in Education, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Tourism Studies and the Associate Degree in Tourism Studies. However, students pursuing these programmes will be required to pay the Facilities Fee.
New students (Guyanese) are required to pay $210,000, inclusive of the Facilities Fee for most programmes, except for those listed above.
While the fees for foreign students have not been adjusted, they will be required to pay the US$ 250 facilities fees instead of the various miscellaneous fees, which were previously paid
The application of the new fees was determined following a series of consultations held with current students and other stakeholders in June 2014.

(By Vanessa Narine)