Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says she is deeply concerned about the recommendations presented to the Government by a special task force to review the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) programme.
She described it as frightening to contemplate the negative effects that cuts to GATE will have on the youth and the future development of the country.
“It is disastrous to implement such cuts before the start of the next academic year,” Persad-Bissessar said in a press release yesterday evening.
One of the suggestions of the task force report is that students enrolled at university would have to pay one third of their fees, while postgraduate students would lose all financial assistance to continue their studies.
“I call on the Government to reject these recommendations,” she said.
Combined with the government’s recent moves to cut scholarships by 15 per cent, end the laptop programme for secondary school students and halt the development of the UWI South Campus, Persad-Bissessar said it appears that the Dr Keith Rowley administration was waging an all-out war against students.
“Now, more than ever, is the time we must invest in students who will become the future leaders of our nation. The students of today will lead the diversification efforts of tomorrow and the Rowley administration seems intent on restricting access to higher education,” Persad-Bissessar said.
“That is why I am calling on the Rowley administration to act as a responsible Government by rejecting the task force recommendations and by focusing instead on expanding GATE as they promised during the 2015 election campaign.”