Guard yourself against a slave mentality that would keep you from progressing in life.

This was the message of educator and public figure MacDonald Fingall as he delivered the feature address today at the Chalky Mount Primary School’s 2014 graduation ceremony, themed Preparing Today For Tomorrow’s Success.

He told the students that as they moved on to another level of their academic life, there were several ingredients that contributed to a bright future, the first of which was ridding themselves of the slave mentality passed on by their forefathers, which he said unfortunately still existed today. Fingall quoted from an address which he said was delivered by slave owner William Lynch to an audience on the bank of the James River in Virginia in 1712 regarding control of slaves within the colony for at least 300 years.

He also highlighted the climate of distrust and envy which was very strong in those days.

MacDonald Fingall, educator and public figure, delivering remarks during the Chalky Mount Primary School graduation ceremony.

“This happens almost every day in this country, and we are just waiting for it to go away,” the educator said.

“We don’t trust each other and you know that too . . . . When I start to talk like this, people does get nervous. Not the white people; black people. Ya’ll does get scared, but scared for what? I just telling the truth. This was indoctrinated in us by design; therefore it will not go away on its own. It has to go away by design.

“When you are 35 and 40 years, it too engrained in you. These are the people that I got to talk to this morning and show them that things got to change. Make them understand that it is okay for a black man to be rich; it is okay for a black man to be in charge. Be proud of us . . . . When I talk to some of ya’ll, ya’ll holding down yuh head.

“In the days of slavery it was against the law to look in massa face and yuh had to hold down yuh head and say, ‘Yes, massa, yes, massa’. But we are free people. So from now on, when you talk to anybody, look in them face like a man or like a woman. Them days done.”

Fingall also told the graduands that as they strove for excellence, they must be thoroughly educated about all aspects of their lives through achieving academic qualifications and experience, and to always bare in mind that the world was constantly changing.

“You must walk with confidence, talk with confidence. Your body must exude confidence. We live in the same world as the rest. How comes we accept that Americans are some of the best? How comes we accept that Chinese are some of the best in the world? Don’t we live in the same world? So why can’t we be some of the best in the world? . . . . You see Jamaicans, they know that they are some of the best in the world.

“That is why Bob Marley and Bolt can stomp on the world because they got that in them. We ain’t come from the same place? Why we so docile? Why we so scared? You don’t see when I introduce [calypsonian] Gabby now, I introduce him as the best in the world and Red Plastic Bag as one of the best songwriters in the world, because we live in the same world; but that is the attitude that we have to have.”

In delivering the school’s report, principal Laureen Hinds said all ten students had successfully completed this year’s Common Entrance Examination, and added that while the national mean for English was set at 64.9 per cent, Chalky Mount had received 73.1, putting it at second place, right behind Charles F. Broome. The national mean for maths is 57.6 per cent and Chalky Mount accomplished 66.7 per cent, falling into fourth place. Most Outstanding Student and Top Boy was Kobia Waldron; Shakada Benskin was Top Girl.

When the new school year resumes in September, “famous” principal Matthew Farley, who enters retirement next week, will not be sitting in his office of 11 years at Graydon Sealy Secondary School.

But he will still be a principal at heart and has vowed that as he traverses the island, if he does not see students of that institution living up to the known standards that he has set during his tenure, he will not hesitate to ask them to conform.

“I will be looking for those uniforms, I will be checking for those hems. I may even get out the car and say, ‘look, pull up that sock’. But remember I only do it because I love you,” Farley told his students today as he gave a response speech to a special and well executed retirement function.

David Christie, the deputy principal who will also be leaving his post after spending 41 years in the service — 34 of which he dedicated to The Garrison Secondary School, recently renamed Graydon Sealy — was also honoured.

Following the memorable tributes of song, dance and poetry which spoke of his outstanding career, Farley recalled that when he made his first address to the school’s population 11 years ago, he had told the students that it was not their altitude that determined how far they reached in life, but rather their attitude that will carry them where they wanted to go.

And this was the message he wanted to leave with present students as he prepared to make his exit from the institution and from the teaching profession after 41 years.

He also assured them that “it does not matter who the principal is; what mattered was how they responded to the principal and what the school stood for.

During the function, glowing tribute was paid to Farley as a hard worker and a strong and dynamic voice of agitation for the rights of teachers, who took part in many historic marches and demonstrations of the Barbados Union of Teachers.

Principal Farley was also hailed as a strong disciplinarian who was not afraid to deal with issues head on with Chief Education Officer Laurie King, who spoke to the media following the function, describing Farley as one who would have had a panoramic view of education and would go down in history for being very aggressive and assertive in his attack on discipline.

“He had ideas, he brought many of his ideas to the fore in terms of impacting positively on education and I enjoyed working with him as Chief Education Officer while he has been principal at Graydon Sealy Secondary school,” King said.

The principal, who made local and international headlines back in 2007 after he sent home 213 girls for dress code breaches, had also threatened in the past to take students, whose parents often did not collect them until after hours, to the police station.

He was insistent that girls’ overalls and skirt hems must adhere to the stipulated two and a half inches below the knees; that socks must be two inches above the ankles and that boys’ pants must be worn at the waist and could not be tapered at the ankles.

However, in his usual assertive tone, Farley said today he had no apologies to make for the way he conducted himself.

“While there were those who would say ‘I hate Farley’, Farley has always loved you. There were those who would say ‘I hate this school’. This school has done nothing but those things that are aimed at making you better and the best that you can be.

“And so I don’t make any apologies, I never apologize for insisting on the long skirts, I never apologized for insisting where the socks should be worn. . . ,” said Farley, adding that “I have seen students from this school who have gone on and whenever I meet them they have that distinct Garrison personality that recognizes that deportment is part of character that you can’t buy in Bridgetown.

Meanwhile, Christie was described as a dedicated and devoted teacher and administrator who kept only the best interest of the school and students at heart as he exhibited Christian principles and values.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ronald Jones is concerned that too many of this country’s vulnerable children are being left on the sidelines.

Addressing a gathering of young teachers today who are about to pursue diploma and certificate programmes in education at the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College he urged them to bring the child that is failing and vulnerable further to the centre, rather than leave that child on the periphery.

In a passionate address, Jones warned: “That child on the periphery is a dangerous child. He is also a thinking child. Even though we may not think so, it is true.

“The child that is thinking may think that somewhere along the line he did not receive his just reward, whatever that just reward is. But part of that just reward as far as I am concerned is the ability for teachers to understand that that child is suffering and to take that child and love that child first and foremost,” he said.

The Government minister told the educators that they were called to bring about change and to make a difference.

“You are social workers, you are counsellors, you are psychiatrists, you are winner of souls and changers of minds and you have to accept that responsibility. It is not about a pay cheque,” he said.

“I am passionate when I hear a teacher verbally assaults a child because the greatest damage that a teacher can do a child is the use of the rotten word, the hurtful word, that damages a child almost forever,” Jones told the gathering.

nevilleclarke@barbadostoday.bb

Opposition Senator Wilfred Abrahams (L) an MP, Edmund Hinkson at the press briefing today

An opposition parliamentarian is today accusing the Freundel Stuart administration of reneging on its promise to act as a guarantor for certain student loan applicants and failing to follow through on the promised National Registration Education Plan.

The accusations were made at a press briefing at the office of the Leader of the Opposition by Member of Parliament for St James North, Edmund Hinkson.

He recalled that Minister of Education, Ronald Jones, had promised during debate on the last budget that Government would stand as a guarantor for applicants to the Student Revolving Loan Fund  for those who could not afford to pay.

“Yet, he has recently announced a policy for these loans that does not in any way remove the previous requirements of two sureties or collateral security, such as cash, land, property, shares, government paper, shares or mutual funds,” the St James, North representative said.

He noted that only loans of $12,000 or less attract no surety, which is contrary to the Government undertaking.

“They promised that there will be no threshold whatsoever,” he contended.

Hinkson also questioned Government’s silence on a plan, announced in the 2013 budget by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler, that would allow persons who utilise a National Registration Education Savings Plan to save towards tertiary education.

“This whole episode marks another in a string of breach of promises made by the DLP [government] to the people who elected them in order to improve the quality of their lives,” added Hinkson, the opposition shadow Minister of Education.

Medical students graduating from the University of the West Indies may find it increasingly difficult to secure internship placements as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).

Head of Pediatrics and coordinator of QEH’s internship programme Dr Clyde Cave said the hospital had limited capacity to absorb the number of graduates from the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Cave Hill.

And he warned that situation could worsen if left unchecked.

Speaking at the Martindale Road facility during the intake of 30 interns for the 2014-2015 period, Dr Cave revealed that QEH could only accept 30 of the 55 graduates who applied for the one-year internship programme. Forty-four of the applicants were Barbadians.

“What you are seeing this morning is the 30 who were elected based on the top grades to start their apprenticeship. They [unsuccessful applicants] have to look for other internship positions which are hard to come by because there seems to be an over supply of medical degrees compared with the traditional places for internship,” he said.

“Previously we had 20 students per year graduating from our medical school and we had 20 internship positions and then it slowly increased. The numbers are increasing so perhaps this situation may be even worst in years to come. It fluctuates, the University would have to speak to how many people that they have. Our regulations state that we have to select Bajans first so we never even got down to the non-Barbadian Caribbean applicants who we had because as we said, there are more Barbadians with degrees than we have positions for. So all of the other applicants, while eligible, were not considered,” he pointed out.

During the programme, interns would spend three-month rotations each in Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Pediatrics and Surgery, and be mentored by senior doctors.

They would also be continuously evaluated, and those who perform the best would be designated “Outstanding Interns” with one being selected as “Intern of the Year”.

Meantime, Dr Jamario Skeete, who was named QEH Intern of the Year 2012-2013 advised the new interns they would have to depend on their determination and perseverance during the process.

“You will be faced with challenges of exhaustion and at times frustration . . . it is during these times that you would be called to give of your best. Today as you embark on this journey, I encourage you to continue to give of your absolute best.

“The impact that you will have on patients on a daily basis is immense. Never take it for granted. . . As the intern, you will spend the most time with the patients on your team, be your patients advocate and keep their interests at heart. In despair, call on your colleagues, your friends, your family and most importantly call on your fate and despite hardship, give it your all,” Dr Skeete advised.

Existing and prospective Barbadian students of the University of the West Indies (UWI) have been thrown a lifeline.

Principal of the Cave Hill Campus Sir Hilary Beckles today promised that a “flexible payment arrangement” would be offered to those who were in a “desperate situation”.

He said the decision was taken at a meeting of the Campus’ finance committee on Monday.

At the same time, Sir Hilary said he remained hopeful that Government would find a way to pay the approximately $200 million it owes the regional institution.

Despite promises made as recent as March last year that the cash-strapped university would be given the majority of what it was owed by July this year, Sir Hilary said the university was still waiting to be paid by the Freundel Stuart administration.

“There are various strategies that have been used in the past so we are still hopeful that the Government, with its cash flow challenges, might be able to work out an instrument or facility that will enable us to survive because we have obligations to meet and with some goodwill I think we could find a way forward as other governments have found ways forward in the past,” he said.

However, he acknowledged problems in the the domestic economy, saying “in my own judgment I think if the Government had the resources they would have made them available to us, but the fact is that they don’t have them”.

In relation to student debt, Sir Hilary also said: “We have a number of students who are currently struggling to meet their obligation to us. But it is not a challenge that we are overly concerned about because we understand it . . . when our students fall we don’t step on them, we try to give them a leg up”.

Since the Government announced that Barbadian students will pay university fees for the first time come September, as much as 25 per cent of existing students have expressed concern that they would not be able to continue tertiary studies.

So far, applications to the Cave Hill Campus have fallen by about 40 per cent, forcing that institution to reopen the application process and a number of financial institutions to offer students attractive loan packages.

However, Sir Hilary said it was realized that despite the range of loans and other financial assistance, many students would still not be able to access those financing options and therefore would not be in a position to pay their tuition on time.

“The message that Cave Hill wishes to send to all of our students and to all of our potential students, is that Cave Hill is a family and we will never turn our back on our members. Those who will find themselves in great difficulty must come to Cave Hill and speak to us about the facilities that we can put in place to assist those who are in a desperate situation,” said Sir Hilary.

“If you cannot participate in the financial arrangements, if you do not have the capacity to do that, do not give up on your education, do not retreat from your studies. You come in and you will speak to us and we will make sure that every member of the Cave Hill family is protected and taken care of,” he promised.

His assurance came today at a media conference where Scotiabank handed over a cheque totalling $45,000 to provide 15 bursaries for existing Cave Hill campus students over the next two years.

The bursaries will be going to students majoring in Management Studies, Economics or Finance. Ten bursaries will be issued in the first year – five to second year students and five to third year students – while the other five will be issued next year to students who will be in their third year.

Expressing gratitude to the financial institution for its role in ensuring that students were able to continue their studies, Sir Hilary urged all current and prospective students to explore all available financing options.

He added, however, that he hoped with time the various facilities would be made “even more generous with respect to the interest rates and the terms”.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb

Almost five years after he unveiled his vision of one tertiary level graduate per household in Barbados by 2020, principal of the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus Sir Hilary Beckles is sticking to his guns. Describing those criticize the concept as unintelligent, Sir Hilary said having a tertiary graduate per household in Barbados was one way of ensuring the issue of poverty was addressed.

Since the university principal spoke on the issue in his strategic plan in 2009 there has been harsh criticisms from various sections of society.

But responding to questions from the media following a donation of bursaries by Scotiabank to the University at the financial institution’s CGI Tower, Warrens office on Tuesday, Sir Hilary said it was still his vision.

Sir Hilary Beckles

“It was that we wanted to see at least one graduate in every household from the campus and all the colleges in Barbados. It was notmeanttobejustCave Hill’ svision.It was higher education; so the [Barbados] Community College, the [Samuel Jackman Presocd] Polytechnic, the Cave Hill Campus, Erdiston College, BIMAP,” he explained.

“There are obvious reasons. It is a no-brainer, it is fundamental common sense that in this country the most reliable way, not the only, but the most reliable way out of poverty in this country historically has been education and higher education,”said Sir Hilary.

Sharing his personal experience of having gone to university and his brothers and sisters following suit, Sir Hilary added: “the effect of all of that was to lift the family out of poverty”.

“And I would like to see every household in Barbados have a similar journey. And every household in Barbados has the capacity to have a similar journey because the communities, the families, the country and the region will all benefit. So to criticize the notion of at least one graduate per household is unintelligent. And I have heard many places [including] on political platforms that to have one graduate per household is madness. It is not madness, it is commonsense. And any time you find your self criticising common sense, it is because you have lost your own,” added Sir Hilary.

SirHilaryalsoblamedthemediaforeither“notfullyunderstanding”or“seeking to undermine” the concept.

A new study has revealed that the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies puts more direct foreign exchange earnings into the Treasury every year, than sugar and rum exports.

Coming against the backdrop of criticisms that the university was a drain on the Treasury, the research, conducted by a six-member team, found that the campus generated almost $87 million in foreign exchange last year, down from the estimated $89 million for 2012.

Chairman of the team and senior lecturer in the department of economics Dr Winston Moore told a media conference at the 3Ws Oval this morning, when this contribution is compared to foreign exchange income from sugar and rum exports for last year, Cave Hill outstrips each of them.

Dr Moore noted that sugar earned about $16 million last year, while rum brought in approximately $86 million.

He explained that the UWI uses Barbados dollars to produce US currency, through such things as projects incomes, tuition fees and visitors to the campus.

“When you look at the sources of our income . . . dispelling one of those myths that are out there. One of the things that you always hear is that the campus itself is primarily dependent on Government’s contribution. But . . . project income actually accounts for almost 22 per cent of the income that we generate here at Cave Hill Campus; and we also have commercial and investment income as well. Then we also have a small component coming through tuition fees,” the senior lecturer in economics pointed out.

He said when calculating the value added of education institutions such as the University, the basic way to do that was sum the wage costs and the service of operations, before depreciation and interests costs.

“So what you have here is the direct economic contribution of the campus to the Barbados economy between 2009 and 2013 as a percentage of GDP. And you can see that in 2009, when the campus accounted for about 1.7 per cent of GDP, we’ve grown in 2012 to about just over two per cent, but unfortunately due to our cost-cutting activities, it’s just about fallen back just below that two per cent,” Dr Moore disclosed.

“So on average,” he continued,”the campus makes a direct contribution to economic activity, of about two per cent in any given year. Now this is just the direct contribution, you still have to take into account, the indirect contribution. Between 2009 and 2011, we were generating about $30 million for businesses in Barbados. So every time we purchases a paper, every time we hired a transport vehicle, when we have conferences; those type of activities account for approximately $30 million between 2009 and 2011.”

The survey found, too, that direct and indirect gross value added generated by Cave Hill Campus, between 2009 and 2013, stood at just over $200 million.

The study, entitled The Impact of the University of the West Indies – Cave Hill Campus on the Economy of Barbados. further discovered that the campus pushes about $56 million directly into the Treasury annually through PAYE and VAT.

“This is the number that I get. Just under $56 million in PAYE, NIS and Value Added Tax contributions,” he said.

“And looking at the Cave Hill campus, it would probably be one of the few institutions in Barbados where their employees would actually increase their conrtibutions to government revenues. Most companies are reducing the payroll, but because of the type of products we produce, where we spend on services we have to maintain, you are seeing that we are actually increasing our contribution to tax, rather than reducing our contribution to the tax revenue to Barbados.”

With respect to employment at the campus, the survey revealed that the institution depends on a total of 1,184 full time and part time persons, which account for 1.7 per cent of the entire education industry in the country.

While there are aspects which can be measured, Dr Moore observed that other areas, such as cultural and social contribution, could not be quantified.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

With Government directing students to its Student Revolving Loan Fund as a means of meeting their financing requirements, Barbadian students at the three University of the West Indies campuses are crying out that the current provisions are not enough.

The concern was raised during a Press conference today at the Cave Hill Campus hosted by the UWI Guild of Students, the Barbadian Student Association of Jamaica and the Barbados Student Association in Trinidad and Tobago.

The three associations have set up a joint committee on the Tuition Fee Issue affecting Barbadian students and have vowed in the face of the Government’s determination to abandon paying tuition costs, to continue the fight for the worthy cause.

Damani Parris (centre), president of the University West Indies Guild of Students, Javon Webster (left), president of the Barbados Student Association in Trinidad and Tobago and Saashen Sealy, president of the Barbados Student Association of Jamaica during today’s Press conference at the Cave Hill Campus.

“We continue to be concerned about the capacity of the Student Loan,” said Guild President Damani Parris, who asked a series of questions of the Government:

“How can it reasonably ask that students fit their expenses into $50,000 for the entire course of study, while having Barbadians studying Medicine locally, and having students who study at other UWI Campuses? What has been the basis of this figure?

“How can the Government insist that the loan only cover tuition, leaving all other expenses to the student, who may not be able to procure other financing solutions due to the fact that they already have that loan? Did they not realise this disadvantages the students?”

Also speaking at the Press conference, Saashen Sealy, president of the Barbados Student Association of Jamaica, said that with the implementation of the tuition fee, Mona Campus students must acquire approximately $5,000 more per year to guarantee their studies and approximately $12,000 per year for
Medical Science.

Sealy said this meant that the costs for Barbadian students studying at the Jamaica campus will skyrocket to approximately $72,000 to complete their degree or approximately $117,000 for Medical Students.

“As my colleague Mr Parris said, it is of great concern that a maximum of only $50,000, can be lent from the student loan to pursue studies at the University of the West Indies especially us at the Mona campus, where our figures suggest that without tuition cost, the average cost, as we have ascertained, so far is approximately $19,000 per year to pay for our accommodation, plane fare and general cost of living in Jamaica.

“The average Barbadian Mona student therefore must finance approximately $57,000 to pursue an undergraduate degree in the faculties of Science and Technology, Humanities and Education and Medical Science,” Sealy said.

Meanwhile, Javon Webster, president of the Barbados Student Association in Trinidad and Tobago explained that to study Engineering, which is one of the courses not offered at the Cave Hill Campus, Barbadian engineering students attend St Augustine where tuition costs average $6,000 a year, along with the same amount in accommodation.

Webster said the Student Revolving Loan Fund, where most students are awarded $12,000 a year, would only cover tuition and accommodation leaving other expenses unpaid, therefore leaving students uncertain as to how meals, stationary and other learning materials will be financed.

Inter-generational theft!

That’s how the president of the Guild of Students Damani Parris today described the current financial packages on offer by some leading commercial banks, which have made available loans to the University of West Indies (UWI) students to assist them in covering their tuition costs.

Parris, who also levelled the same charge against the Government, has rejected the proposed financial help saying the packages are “overly harsh” and the interest rates being charged are both “absolutely ridiculous” and “alarming”.

During a press conference at the Cave Hill Campus, the Guild Presiident said he had been receiving numerous complaints from frustrated students who were now unsure if they would be able to return to school or would have to abandon their studies because they had not qualified for bank loans.

He said there were some individuals, who had actually accepted loans on condition that they must complete their studies. However, the Guild President said many could not accept the offers because they simply could not afford the interest rates, which varied from 2.5 per cent to 16 per cent for commercial institutions.

“To request 16 per cent on a student loan is unheard of in the general student loan market speaking from the experiences of non Barbadian cases,” Parris said.

“The fact that 16 per cent is even considered is a little bit alarming and it seems as if we are being the victims of what can only be described as inter-generational theft.

“It is very unfortunate that not only are we victims of inter-generational theft on the side of the Government, but also on the side of even the institutions that are supposed to offer loans to the future of the country,” Parris complained.

“We are going to be these persons’ future customers and this is what we are being offered now? It is absolutely ridiculous in the opinion of the Guild of Students!”                  he stressed.

Insisting that the current conditionalities for accepting the loans were too onerous, he cautioned students that “if you take this loan tomorrow, by the next month you have to start paying back interest on the amount taken.

“That is simply unsustainable for most Barbadian households. The average Barbadian household would not be able to attain a situation where they are paying 16 per cent on a loan of tens of thousands of dollars. It is unattainable for the majority of working class households in the country, if not all of them,” he said.

Given the current concerns, the president said the Guild believes the commercial banking sector needs to urgently sit with representatives of the student body and the University to discuss tailor-made packages that would benefit the students and the institution.

The Guild President also plans to raise the matter with Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler next week during a scheduled meeting.

However, he said they were still awaiting responses from Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and Minister of Education Ronald Jones to their requests for a meeting.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

The Government of Barbados has provided a lifeline for students of the University Of The West Indies (UWI) who have been experiencing difficulties in meeting their tuition costs.

Minister of Education Ronald Jones announced today that, in just about a week’s time, 3,000 bursaries will be made available to the students. He also said that 2,500 first year students would benefit from loans under the Student Revolving Loan Scheme.

Ronald Jones

“I have read that young people have been saying that we need to do more now that we have made the adjustment in tuition fees, so based on the resources which we have under the Ministry’s control we should be able to do about 3,000,” said Jones, while addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the Chinese government funded Confucius Institute today at the UWI.

The Minister said in light of the recent changes in the financing of tertiary education, Government was committed to offering assistance.

“Government is committed in its own way with all of its challenges to working with you through those challenges so we are able to conquer the journey.”

He added that the bursaries would not just be available for Cave Hill students but for those studying at the sister campuses as well.

“We are very conscious of those studying at Mona and St Augustine. We know that in order to study, you still have to carry something for accommodation, food, books, travel and so on. We are aware of that so the bursaries would impact them as well,” Jones said.

In addition to the bursaries, thousands of students will also benefit from the Student Revolving Loan Fund.

“We do not have all of the money but 2,500 students in the first year, would be able to access the fund which is like one third of the numbers,” he added.

He further stated, “for those going to Trinidad to do the Certificate in Law, there will be no charge.”

With regard to those studying Medicine, Jones said they would be told what the procedure was shortly.

Just yesterday, the president of the Guild of Students at Cave Hill, Damani Parris, complained that loan packages on offer by some of the commercial banks, carrying interest rates as high as 16 per cent, were simply too harsh for the students.

“It [loans] would not be like what we saw in the paper yesterday. Those figures are way beyond our own comprehension and understanding,” Jones said.

He added that students from all faculties would be able to benefit.

“They are not going to be 100 per cent but we are starting around 50 per cent of the cost so that you have a wider spread. We are working to deal with all the students at the university,” he said.

He urged everyone to stay focused in the midst of all the noise and disturbance.

(DB)

Students of the University of the West Indies who have to pay thousands of dollars in tuition fees, come September, or be obliged to withdraw from the institution, now have a new option to consider.

A small group of United States and Barbados businesses have come together to launch a compelling global initiative and fund-raising campaign, designed to empower university students to “earn” the funds they need to pay their tuition fees, working online and/or offline as sales and marketing affiliates for various commercial services.

Called Operation: TuitionPay, or OTP, the initiative, which officially began today, July 15, is not just for student participation. The idea is for all citizens and businesses to proactively support the initiative and to help promote it internationally via email and social media.

“We’ve created a sound structure through which UWI alumni worldwide, the Caribbean diaspora, and, ultimately, total strangers can all come together and play their part in a global effort to save thousands of Caribbean UWI students from either being forced to drop out, or endure major financial hardship that can negatively impact their ability to perform optimally in their studies,” said Robin Belle of Caribbean Interactive Media, one of the corporate facilitators responsible for the technology aspects of the initiative.

Robin Belle of Caribbean Interactive Media.

The primary service which the students will be marketing/selling is a world-class mobile marketing platform one that plays to the great affinity the youth have with mobile technology.

“There is no question that today’s consumers have fully embraced smartphones and tablets and want access to business-related information while on the go. Consumers don’t care to wait till they are back in the office, or at home, to find out where is the nearest laundry or health food deli, so GPS mobile technology empowers the consumer and makes businesses more accessible,” says Belle.

Seventy per cent of the revenue generated from sales of the service by students goes into a special tuition fund set up at Prudential Co-operative Credit Union Ltd, another corporate facilitator of the OTP initiative. Mr Oriel Doyle, treasurer of PCCUL, stated: “In conjunction with the accounting firm Office Express Inc., we are providing the financial fund facility and accounting transparency/oversight for the OTP initiative to ensure the local business community that when they purchase the mobile service to support the students, the students will receive the designated financial benefit as intended.”

Treasurer of PCCUL, Oriel Doyle

An official website for the initiative has been created, as well as a separate site where students will be able to access sales and marketing materials and obtain guidance on how to promote/market the service to business in and outside of Barbados.

Legal counsel for the initiative, attorney-at-law Leslie Roberts, noted: “We are inviting companies in Barbados to not just buy a subscription to assist a handful of students, but to come forward and exercise corporate social responsibility by sponsoring the initiative, so that it can be more effectively promoted locally and regionally, to reach the thousands of UWI students who need help.”

The organizers of the initiative commend the commercial banks for offering loan facilities and the Government for its offer of 3,000 bursaries, but believe that the community at large should play a part in averting the economic crisis faced by the students. They hold the view that the students, too, should be empowered to help themselves in this situation and not rely totally on being “handed” the money through loans and bursaries; so the initiative provides students with the opportunity and means to service any loans obtained, or to supplement what they obtain through bursaries.

“The initiative also seeks to change the thinking of the students from seeing themselves as ‘victims of circumstance’ and help them to realize that great adversity is typically great opportunity in disguise and, as such, represents an excellent opportunity for them to grow as individuals and to achieve things, which they never thought they could at this stage of their lives, to become ‘victors of circumstance’ instead,” said Belle.

It should be noted that while the primary focus of the initiative is to economically empower the students and ensure the continuation of their university education, the initiative has been specifically designed to benefit the economy of Barbados on an ongoing basis, generating significant inflows of much needed foreign exchange, providing extensive international promotion of Barbados as a tourist destination and entrepreneurial centre, and preparing local businesses to meet the needs of a new generation of “technology-oriented and savvy” visitors, who are looking for destinations that facilitate widespread, “on-demand” mobile internet/information access and mobile commerce transactions. Through this initiative, therefore, university students will lead the “mobilization” of Barbados’ commercial sectors, especially the tourism sector.

UWI students who wish to take advantage of the initiative, and earning opportunity it offers, are asked to sign up on the official website at www.OTP-INITIATIVE.info. An orientation session for UWI students, who register on the website to participate in the initiative, will be held over the coming weekend. The venue and time will be communicated by email to the students who register online.

Companies willing to consider sponsoring the initiative are asked to review the Sponsors section of the official website first, then get in touch with the organizers at 246-838-9661, 246- 836-7235 or on Admin@CIM-INC.com.

The general public, UWI alumni, Caribbean diaspora and well-wishers worldwide are also asked to sign up as supporters on the official website and to use the tools provided therein to help promote the initiative.

Education Minister Ronald Jones is mum on a decision to close the Society Primary School but Attorney-at Law David Comissiong is leading a charge to force the Minister to break his silence and reverse the move.

A strongly worded petition launched by students, teachers, the ancillary staff, parents, Society Primary old scholars and others demands the decision be quashed and that immediate steps be taken to restore the institution to a fully functioning government primary school by the new term in September.

When Barbados TODAY contacted Minister Jones for comment, he insisted he would not respond.

Comissiong expressed the view that the decision was not properly thought through and he maintained that the school was of such historical significance that everything possible should be done to overturn the closure.

The social activist said what was particularly disturbing was the fact that the Ministry of Education proceeded to shut down the school without consulting the students, the parents, teachers and the surrounding community.

Comissiong, who met with the concerned groups on Monday, reported that parents and residents in the Society community feel hard done by the Democratic Labour Party administration.

Minister of Education Ronald Jones.

“They feel very strongly that the closure of the school is part and parcel of the kind of neglect and lack of regard that has been demonstrated to the people of St. John over the years. They feel that St. John has been short changed by the authorities and that this episode is par for the course, they feel very aggrieved,” he told Barbados TODAY.

He said some parents raised concern that the number of schools in St John had been diminishing and with just three remaining, some suggested there may be no primary schools in the rural parish.

“I think the people of St. John deserve better than this and I trust that, on more sober reflection, the powers that be will realise they made an egregious mistake and will do the right thing and correct that mistake,” he said.

Comissiong further argued that the country was shooting itself in the foot if the institution remains closed in light of its historical significance.

“If Society Primary is closed what we have done is destroyed one of the most important historical institutions not only in Barbados but in the entire Caribbean, because we are talking about an institution that is 219 years old, an institution that has the distinction of being the first educational institution in Barbados established to educate the enslaved black children of our ancestors.”

He said the school could easily be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“If we look at the complex of educational institutions that arose out of the Christopher Codrington will and bequest, the Codrington College, the Codrington High School, the Lodge School and most importantly Society Primary, we can see that collectively what we have in St. John is a complex of educational institutions that could very well merit the designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,” he explained.

Comissiong said the petition, which appeals to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, Minister of Education Ronald Jones, Minister of Culture Stephen Lashley and Parliamentary Representative Mara Thompson, was only the beginning and he hinted that the matter could reach the law courts if their demands are not.

“We have something in Barbados called the Administrative Justice Act which permits one to go to the Supreme Court to have an administrative decision made by a government minister or any governmental official, to have a decision scrutinised and to have the court pronounce upon that decision, but we hope that would be a last resort, we trust that better judgment will prevail, once the historical significance is understood,” he said.

sandydeane@barbadostoday.bb

The President of the Students Guild at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus says he is pleased with the outcome of a meeting yesterday with top Government officials.

Damani Parris described the near five hour long, closed door meeting with Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and Minister of Education Ronald Jones at Government Headquarters, Bay Street as “productive”.

Parris said that after months of calling for an audience with these officials to discuss the policy of students having to pay tuition fees as of September, he was happy that practical solutions were identified.

Though unable to go into details, he said two of the items discussed were the structure of the Student Revolving Loan Fund and students having difficulties accessing loans from financial institutions as a result of a lack of sureties and high interest rates.

“At this point we cannot share the majority of the details of the meeting but what we will indicate is that we found the meeting very productive and it was a comfort to the representatives of the student body to hear some of the things reflected by the authorities yesterday.

“We are hopeful that coming out of this meeting going forward that we will have much more productive meetings as promised by the Minister of Education. I must indicate that I am very pleased coming out of this meeting,” Parris stressed.

The Guild President however made it clear that students would still have to pay tuition fees in September. However, he said provisions were being made to ease at least some of the financial burden on their shoulders.

On that note, he said Jones recent announcement that the Ministry of Education was giving out 3000 bursaries  to students was a step in the right direction.

Later this week, the Guild is also scheduled to meet with Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler where the main item on the agenda will be overly harsh student loan packages on offer by some leading commercial banks.

The President of the Young Democrats, Curtis Cave, has expressed concern about the way in which money is being spent at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies.

Cave voiced this concern today while speaking to members of the Press at the launch of this year’s Young Democrats Educational Grants Programme at the headquarters of the Democratic Labour Party, George Street, St Michael.

Questioning the use of scarce funds by officials at the Campus, the third year law student, said: “It is my humble and honest belief that in light of the current financial situation in this country, projects like the Mandela Memorial Park [which is currently under construction] should not be a priority, especially when the University is facing a possible loss of revenue.

“This money, in my opinion, should go to a possible grant fund for students; research such as alternative energy to help develop our country; or in publishing more books from the lecturers on campus,” the student said. “Moreover, I wish also to see the University providing a forum and leading discussions on current topics of concern.”

Turning his attention to the commercial banking sector at a time when several students are seeking loans to finance their tuition fees, the outspoken student said: “Do not use this current situation with tuition fees to make a huge profit by setting ridiculously high interest rates.”

Instead, he suggested that the banks should “offer loans which are reasonable and affordable to Barbadian families who have helped to build [their] businesses and institutions over the years.

“This too will be seen as giving back to society and contributing to the development of our country and its people,” he added.

In terms of the Educational Grant Programme, he said the aim was to assist students who are unable to pay their fees or afford the necessities for school.

Registration for the programme began today and ends on August 15, 2014.

The president noted that while in the past five grants were offered, the Young Democrats hope to double the number and increase the maximum grant from $500 to $1000.

Cave commended City of Bridgetown Credit Union, Jada Construction, Infra Inc., L&N Workshop and ICBL Insurance Company for their sponsorship and announced that a fund raising fete will be staged at the DLP headquarters on Saturday, July 19.

Principals need to stop suspending students unnecessarily, contends youth activist Roger Husbands.

He has warned that many of these students get involved in unproductive activity when they should be at school.

Roger Husbands

“I am urging principals in the new school term to please rethink the suspensions,” said Husbands, who is the director of the Drug Education and Counseling Services (DECS).

He is opposed to the “sending home children every now and then for little things that could be dealt with at the school level”.

“Too many of our children are being sent home and some of them are happy to be sent home because then they get a chance to watch television and play video games, run ‘bout under the tree, run outside and go to the beach and all of those kind of things.

“I am saying to principals, especially, to be very cautious of that sending home that we are accustomed too,” he said.

His comments came during a press conference yesterday at the Bay Street, St Michael headquarters of the DECS.

Husbands, who deals with many delinquent youths, referred to him from schools and the court system, said all secondary schools in Barbados should have
a suspension room for troubled students.

“There is one school that I know with a tremendously great programme where they have a suspension room and instead of sending you home, you are suspended to that room and in that room you get counselling, you have classes, you have all kind of things in that room – which means that your behaviour would have to change because you ain’t going home and sleep. So the trick ain’t going to work anymore.”

Husbands also voiced his concern about troubled students being ignored throughout their years at school and sent through the gates as soon as they reach 16, with little or no qualification or direction in life.

“We [are] just sending them through the door and saying, ‘thank you for coming’,” he said

“There needs to be a treatment plan; something to help that child so that when it leaves the school what is next. Some guidance counsellors refer them to places like [The Samuel Jackman Prescod] Polytechnic and skills training, but some of those places are full.

He suggested that the guidance counsellors should sit with the children  before they leave school at age 16 “and develop a treatment plan and an option, instead of just saying ‘goodbye, thanks for the time that you have been here’.”

The time is “ripe” for Government to increase its subvention to private schools on the island, as parents who are facing the challenges of the economic climate are seeking to transfer their charges to public schools.

Veteran educator Matthew Farley has revealed that he was aware there had been no change in the quantum of funds allocated to private schools since 1984, though initially the subvention used to be increased every five or six years.

“While funds allocated to the public education have been exponential increases, for 30 years these schools, many of which have been forced out of existence, have not benefited from an increase,” he said.

Farley sent out this SOS as he addressed the Barbados Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Secondary School’s 2014 graduation ceremony themed Our Dreams Our Reality at Hilton Barbados Resort.

Some of the 2014 graduating class of the Seventh-Day Adventist Secondary School.

The outgoing principal of Graydon Sealy Secondary indicated that schools outside the public sector, including denominational or church schools, had made an outstanding contribution to the development of Barbados, and cognisant of this, the Government since 1965 had provided private schools with a subvention to assist with operational costs. He said the Government must be lauded for its foresight and vision in this regard.

“The retrenchment of workers in the public and private sectors has forced many parents to seek transfers to public schools. Perhaps the time is ripe for the Government, which has not been unmindful to the importance of education, to revisit the amount of money allocated to what is referred to as “the assisted schools”. It is important to note that the children in those schools are Barbadians too,” Farley said.

The educator also explained that over the years, public and private schools had co-existed, operating side by side in the delivery of education. He suggested that it might be argued that public secondary education had its beginnings in church or denominational schools.

Giving a brief history, the principal said the first private grammar school, the Codrington Grammar School which was established in 1745, is now known as The Lodge School, and was established through the resources of the Society For The Propagation Of The Gospel. On this note, he stressed that the development of Barbados owed much to the early establishment of a relationship between church and state, and between the public and private sectors.

“I make bold to say that the denominational or church schools have been undoubtedly the pioneers in making the education available to the masses and not just the classes.”

Turning his attention to the 45 SDA graduands, Farley encouraged them, as they opened a new chapter in their lives, to take inspiration from black hero Dr Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement which he led valiantly with determination, hard work, perseverance, fearlessness, moving from the dreams, hopes and aspirations of his people to the reality which Blacks around the world now enjoy.

Graduand Jatonia Smith.

“With that attitude like Dr King’s, your dreams, your hopes and your aspirations will become reality; and like him you can say, ‘I’ve been to the mountain top; and I’ve seen the promised land. For your mountain top and your promised land will have been achieved when those dreams, hopes and aspirations birthed in your mind and thoughts become one with your reality.

“While you are too young to be able to say “I’ve been to the mountain top, or that you have seen the promised land at this point, it is my hope that the past five or six years you have spent in the corridors of the SDA school would have brought you some distance from the imaginary state of dreams, hopes and aspirations and closer to their being your reality; for there is a sense in which true education can be described as the convergence of dreams with reality,” Farley said.

Pastor Danforth Francis, chairman of the school’s board of management, congratulating the graduands, told them the church organization was happy to have provided them with an environment that exposed them to a holistic education. Francis also urged them, as they made their decisions for the next level of their education, to remember that the church had made full provision for their tertiary needs, noting that right here in Barbados there was an extension campus of the University of the Southern Caribbean.

Amidst Opposition warnings that the tertiary education of thousands of Barbadians remains in jeopardy, the Ministry of Education is today promising clarity on the issue.

In a statement issued today, Shadow Minister of Education, Edmund Hinkson said the Government continues to break its promises to put adequate financing arrangements in place for students who need assistance paying tuition fees at the University of the West Indies.

But Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Laurie King informed Barbados TODAY this afternoon that the relevant information would be made available to the country by tomorrow. King declined to say any more on the matter.

However, a brief statement from the Government Information Service (GIS) this evening indicated that application forms for bursaries will be available from tomorrow at the Examinations Section of the ministry.

Minister Ronald Jones was unavailable for comment.

Minister of Education Ronald Jones.

In his statement, though, Hinkson said: “The latest episode of this woeful saga is the failure by Education Minister Ronald Jones to ensure that his ministry is in a position to process applications for the 3,000 bursaries which he, on the 11th of this month, stated would be launched in two weeks’ time to help those financially challenged citizens who were already attending one of the three UWI campuses who wished to enter for the first time.”

The Opposition spokesman on education noted that on that occasion, Jones revealed that the bursary arrangements had already been agreed to, and that he was clearing up some of the “noise and mischief” circulating on the matter of paying tuition fees.

“However, both current and potential students of our three campuses continue to be clueless as to how they can even apply for a bursary,” he added.

Hinkson claimed that there are was no announcement of criteria or how the process for the selection of recipients would be conducted.

Additionally, the MP said, no indication had been given about who would be entitled to full bursaries, partial bursaries, how many of the declared 3,000 bursaries would be given in this coming academic year and to which faculty’s students.

“We do not know whether persons with disabilities and others who make up the most vulnerable segment of our society would be given preference in applying. We do not know whether potential students need to first apply for a loan before they can be eligible for a bursary,” the Opposition MP for St James North observed.

He said it was not known whether the selection process would be saddled with political considerations, with supporters of the governing party as well as relatives and friends of ruling Democratic Labour Party politicians having a distinct advantage in accessing these bursaries.

“I myself, incognito, contacted the Education Ministry last Friday and could obtain no response from any official on any of these queries. Has Minister Jones, under public pressure in yet another knee-jerk response . . . proclaimed an initiative without the finances being in place to fund it?” he asked.

“This political administration has created so much uncertainty over the funding by students of their tuition fees, whether on the issue of the student revolving loan funding, Government granted bursaries and otherwise, that over 40 per cent of the present students are today uncertain about whether they will be able to continue their courses,” Hinkson claimed.

The Shadow Minister of Education also suggested that there was now a 50 per cent decline in new applications to enter the UWI for the first time.

Registration for the new academic year will begin in three weeks.

There has been overwhelming response by students to the call to access bursaries for the University of the West Indies (UWI), according to Education Officer Everton Briggs.

He said he expected that by the end of the day more than 800 people would have passed through the Examination Section of the Ministry of Education where the application forms were distributed for the first time today.

“We have been seeing people coming from early. We said to collect the forms between 9:30 am and 4:15 pm, but we have been seeing people coming in way before 8:00 am,”
he said.

Those in the queue included teenagers, working adults, as well as parents, who collected on behalf of their children.

The bursary is aimed specifically at Barbadian students pursuing undergraduate studies at the UWI. It will be directly paid to the university and will assist with the payment of tuition fees.

The documents which each applicant must submit to be eligible for the bursary include: the completed bursary application form; a notarized copy of their birth certificate or citizen certificate; a salary slip; a retrenchment letter; information on any loan or financial assistance that will help in the payment of the tuition fee; proof of registration/acceptance at the university; and a most recent transcript from the UWI if the person is a continuing student.

The deadline for applications is Tuesday, August 12.

(BGIS)

Children are not the only culprits of bullying in schools; teachers are also among the offenders.

That is according to Director of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Resource Centre Al Layne who said they were occasionally getting reports of teachers bullying children as well.

Speaking yesterday at a press conference to launch a joint anti–bullying campaign with Supreme Counseling and Sheraton Centre, Say No To Bullying, Yes To Love, Layne said that often this was as a result of teachers’ inability to deal with “different” children.

From left; Supreme Counseling CEO Shawn Clarke, ADHD Resource Centre’s Al Layne, Director of Sheraton Mall Sharon Oran.

He has therefore called for the scope of education on bullying to be broadened to include adults in schools and in the home.

“I think it would be very useful . . . Many of the kids that I see suffer from that because the teachers do not understand the specific circumstances that they are experiencing because they suffer from discreet disabilities. Essentially, that is to say the child is having a challenge of some sort, it’s not clear what that challenge is and therefore the child is treated a though it is stupid or dumb,” Layne said.

“When that child is treated that way consistently by people in the classroom who are an authority, other students start to behave the same way and it becomes very true then that words become more damaging than perhaps than being [lashed],” he said.

Chief executive officer of Supreme Counselling, Shawn Clarke echoed similar sentiments. He agreed that bullying was a learned behaviour.

He suggested that about 75 per cent of all bullying cases in Barbados go unreported because the victims think they have no one to turn to, or that their feelings will be trivialized.

Clarke called on Barbados to face up to the reality to the problem.

“We need to take our heads out of the sand. This thing that ‘it can never happen to us here’ has no place within our society. We have seen the increase of gunplay . . .  so we have to wake up, we have to face reality, we have to realize that bullying has a serious negative impact on our society,” Clarke stated.

“There are older persons who say that ‘I got bullied when I was 10 years old and I am now 65 and look at me’. Yes, you might be extremely strong but what about those persons who aren’t as strong, who aren’t that well put together? There are still persons 40 or 45 years old who are still suffering the effects of bullying, who are still trying to deal with the skeletons that they have. It is not only about the physical, it is not only about the hitting and the kicking and the shoving. It is about name-calling, it’s about taunting, it is about spreading rumours, and words especially have an everlasting effect on a person more than a cut.”

Clarke urged adults to take reports of bullying seriously and investigate them.

Say No To Bullying, Yes To Love was the brainchild of Director of Sheraton Mall, Sharon Oran.

Saying that the topic was very close to her heart, she said that during the remainder of the summer holiday, beginning this Saturday with the official launch of the campaign, there would be a series of activities to highlight and disseminate information about the issue.

“We feel that Sheraton is an excellent location where we can touch a lot of people and actually reach out to them. Bullying touches all ages. It affects schools, businesses, home, work; it is not just about children. The more we can teach people about how to respond the more we can mature. We want to promote alternatives to bullying and the alternative is love, passion tolerance,” Oran said.

The activities will conclude on September 6.