Minister of Education, Ronald Jones

"Value your tertiary education!"

This plea has come from Education Minister Ronald Jones, who wants to see all recipients of tertiary education fully appreciate the value of their training.

Minister Jones was speaking yesterday at the Biennial Conference of the University of the West Indies’ (UWI), School of Education. He advised the gathering of educators and administrators that one of their greatest challenges was the constraint of obtaining funding for tertiary study.

"The growing demand to expand access, improve and maintain quality education for all, enhance physical structures, train staff and encourage research cannot be satisfactorily funded by government allocation alone," he pointed out.

Referring to the "substantial commitment" made by government via the full payment of the tuition and economic costs for all Barbadian students studying at the UWI, Minister Jones disclosed that if it were not for this "generous allocation," each undergraduate would be required to pay up to $30, 000 annually.

"Each medical student would have to pay $65, 000 per year, students in Masters Programmes would be required to pay a fee of between $16, 000 to $30, 000 per programme and Doctoral students would be required to pay approximately $32, 000 per programme," he revealed.

Mr. Jones, however, applauded the UWI for its "strenuous efforts and effective marketing strategies" which have resulted in philanthropic benefits and financial contributions to the University.

aalleyne@barbados.gov.bb

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