Government is maintaining that the Government Assisted Tuition Expenses (Gate) funding will be made available to those most in need. This as Education Minister Anthony Garcia shot back at former minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh, over his claims the cutback in GATE funding was reflective of a lack of commitment by the current Government towards education.
Gopeesingh had described the cutback as “another graphic example of an obvious absence of obligation to human capital development, which was a critical cornerstone of the People’s Partnership administration.”
But at a press conference at the Education Ministry in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Garcia denied Gopeesingh’s statements saying, “There continues to be a constant spread of misinformation by the former government surrounding the review and adjustment of the Gate programme.
“The Gate programme, one of many achievements of the PNM government, commenced in 2004 and was met with major concern surrounding its initial implementation by the then UNC opposition. One member of the Opposition at the time went as far as to call the programme ‘a barrier to excellence in education.’”
He said the Gate Task Force report commissioned by his ministry had indicated that a significant number of students accessing 100 per cent Gate funding came from families that fell in the middle to high income groups of society and thus were not in need of 100 per cent funding. One of the recommendations coming out of that report was the implementation of a means test for students seeking to access funding, which went into effect this month
Garcia said students from middle to high income families would still benefit from 50 per cent funding toward their tuition expenses.
“As the only English-speaking Caribbean country which provides 100 per cent funding for tertiary level studies, the Government intends to continue offering support to its students, adjusted to suit the new economic circumstances the country faces. Previously, the Government spent approximately $700 million on Gate annually.
“This is no longer feasible or prudent for T&T as there has been a significant reduction in revenue and foreign exchange as a result of falling prices of oil and gas moving from a high in 2011 of US$128 to a low of US$30 in 2015. Currently, the price is still at a low US$48,” Garcia said.
He said now that the programme has been in existence in excess of 10 years it has been subject to a comprehensive review, adding such reviews and adjustments were based on the recommendations of the Task Force which were not significantly different to suggestions made by former minister of tertiary education Fazal Karim in 2011.
Karim had then announced the intention to “crack down” on the Gate programme and the possibility the programme would soon cease to be an avenue for private institutions who were creating “cash cows” from the business of exploiting students eager to pursue tertiary education.
Garcia said during the programme review it was found students were consistently abusing the opportunities provided through Gate.
“To eliminate these occurrences, the adjusted Gate programme will facilitate students’ progression through tertiary level studies by permitting access to one programme at each level of tertiary study from certificate through to undergraduate and subsequently post-graduate studies.
“Misinformation also continues to be spread surrounding the reintroduction of the means testing component of the Gate programme. The means test will ensure that the recipients of 100 per cent Gate funding are those who are truly in need based on socio-economic standing,” Garcia said.
He also accused the Opposition of spreading “fear and panic” by claiming institutions would close because of the changes to the Gate programme.