Senior Magistrate Marcia Murray has filed a pre-action protocol letter against the Attorney General citing inequality of treatment meted out to her daughter Saraya Murray. The lawsuit stems from a decision by officials of the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses Programme (GATE) not to pay Saraya’s tuition fees.
She is enrolled as a full-time student at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, Jamaica. The letter dated August 28 states that Saraya was offered a provisional place at UWI, Mona, and applied for tertiary tuition fees assistance on the GATE website.
On May 19, she was notified that her application was “Clearance Verified.” Believing she would be funded by the Government, Saraya went to Mona campus but was informed by the Admissions Section that GATE was funding 40 students whose names were placed on a pass list. Saying that medical students enrolled at UWI, St Augustine, were subsidised by the Government of T&T to the tune of 50 per cent, Murray called on the Government to offer the same subsidy to Mona students.
Murray said if this was not done within four days then Saraya would pursue her constitutional rights in the High Court. Murray also noted that there must be equality of treatment for all citizens adding that the decision not to fund all local students at the Mona campus was a breach of the TT government’s treaty with UWI and Caricom.
On Tuesday, GATE director Theresa Davidson said the ministry pays US$28,000 annually for five years for 40 pupils at the Mona campus. The students are selected on the basis of merit. Davidson said since more places were made available for medical students at the newly opened San Fernando Teaching Hospital, the list of 50 was reduced by ten.
She also said Clearance Verified did not mean automatic approval for GATE funding.