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UWI, Tertiary Education Cost and the Budget

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Submitted by Fair Play
Sir Frank Alleyne
Sir Frank Alleyne

Sir Frank Alleyne’s interview on the People’s Business last night was spot-on. As usual, he was cogent, rational, reasonable and, of course, very ‘frank’, no pun intended. All the while, trying not to be overly critical of the administration at Cave Hill, but tacitly showing up its unreasonableness and excessive spending, nonetheless. He walked the proverbial tightrope (having taught there for decades, so he was somewhat circumspect), but he did it well.

It was very interesting television! Lots of good points were made; but  a couple salient ones stand out:

  • current physical development at the Cave Hill campus is not sustainable;
  • maintenance and personnel to staff the new structures will be difficult to maintain;
  • salary levels are very high;
  • UWI’s operating cost (to central government) has risen exponentially from about $53 million in 2005 to over $126 million in 2012-2013;

  • students who cannot matriculate at BCC easily enrol at Cave Hill;
  • they ought to spend some time getting their feet wet at the BCC, before moving on to UWI;
  • there’s to much emphasis on numbers, and this will compromise quality for quantity;
  • UWI is preoccupied with just teaching, while the required research component (which should generate income and make it less dependent on central government) is lacking;
  • there is very little difference between local students who earn the prestigious Barbadian scholarship and those who attend UWI, since the state picks up the full tab now. The only difference is that the scholarship winners can study anywhere in the world;
  • the Budget measures are timely, as government has to act NOW; set its own austerity measures, and bear the pain; otherwise, we would have to abide by those set by the IMF;
  • and, more attention must be paid to agriculture.

Moderator Dale Forde posed a very important question to Sir Frank: ‘on the one hand, UWI is supposed to be autonomous and independent, yet its bills are met by central government; so, why can’t government intervene and set a ceiling on entrants?’ (I have paraphrased here).

Hear Sir Frank’s diplomatic reply: ‘Good point, but Government has never sought to micro-manage that institution’. That’s so true; but the people at UWI must have a conscience and act responsibly, bearing in mind that it’s the taxpayers who sustain that place.

The long-and-short of the matter is, government has to rein-in Cave Hill. Simply put: who pays the piper, must call the tune. Everyone and every institution must be frugal and exercise good judgement at this time. I shudder to contemplate the alternative.

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103 responses to “UWI, Tertiary Education Cost and the Budget”

  1. HillyBilly Avatar
    HillyBilly

    I still do not see the justification for an end to free tertiary education. What has to be worked through is the entry criteria for students. anyone who has had the fortune or misfortune to have taught at Cave Hill campus knows how ill prepared many students are. If you allow an ill-prepared student to pay fees to study and pass exams, he/she may still be a burden to society in the medium to long term. SO the question is not how prepared or not students are, it is what can UWI do to improve quality over quantity. The answer does not reside in making students pay tuition but in having the university adjust its entry requirements. Yes salaries are high at Cave Hill but so is the workload for lecturers. I agree that quality is an issue at Cave Hill. But this will not be resolved through making students pay when students already enter the university – not having matriculated at BCC.!!! why then are entry requirements so apparently lapse.

  2. David Avatar
    David

    The issue here is a simple one, the government of Barbados CANNOT afford to pay UWI 150 million plus annually.

  3. PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS Avatar
    PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS

    Then, for next year all student need to boycott UWI and sell pot TO THE TOURIST, LETS SEE WHAT THEY WILL DO THEN .
    THEY ARE MANY JERKS AT UWI, ALL THAT TIME THERE AND LEARN NOTHING LIKE TODD ,,JONES WITH ALL OF THE PAID HIGH RANK ,THEY HAVE LEARNED NOTHING, TITLES PAID FOR LIKE ALLEN STANFORD , CROOKS, SIRS AT UWI, QC, MPS, PHDS , MDS AND ALL THAT CROOK SHE-IT THEY DOING ,

  4. Watching (not the attorney) Avatar
    Watching (not the attorney)

    Folks remember it is the University of the West Indies not the University of Barbados therefore the GOB cannot dictate how it is run.just like how the GOB cannot dictate how LIAT is run. The governments of the West Indies decide to fund the University since it is providing a service for these countries.same as LIAT is providing a service.

  5. Watching (not the attorney) Avatar
    Watching (not the attorney)

    The question is if the increased bills from Cave Hill Campus were only presented to the GOB or were there also increased bills to the other contributing countries in the Caribbean.

  6. Tell me more Avatar
    Tell me more

    A few questions to be answered, I need to find out why the room mate and pillow mate of Beckles the St Lucian woman Janet Carew with the straight black hair who works under the UWI boss Beckles is directing the students to protest about student fees.

    If she feels it is necessary to support Beckles come out and say she supports Beckles because the ccock a locks tooo sweet but don’t come thru the backdoor.

    Why are they using her UWI office as Campaign Central.

    What does she do?

    Why is she not encouraging T&T students to protest the payment of 50% of tuition and economic cost when they come to Cave Hill.

    These students have to prove residence in T&T for 3 years before applying and must pay their money before Gov’t pays. Must also get a minimum GPA of 2.0 or no payment from Gov’t.

  7. lol10 Avatar
    lol10

    @Tell Me More
    What personal trite are you blogging. I sense malice in your statements. Trinidadians can fill up their cars for less than half of what we fill our cars with. My point is that each Caribbean country is unique offering its unique range of products and services. Ours happen to be free education and free health care at point of delivery and public beaches. We dont mind paying high taxes if those three pillars on which the country has progressed remains.

    But now we are being highly taxed and asked to pay for health care and now education. There is no justification all the while things like constituency councils, free bus fares, caterers for free Summer camps continue which are only political and have no real effect to advance Barbados.

  8. NOT amused !!!! Avatar
    NOT amused !!!!

    It is not amusing that more than one person can suggest that the foolishness that Plantations deeds has posted here can be excellent !!!!

  9. George C. Brathwaite Avatar
    George C. Brathwaite

    Tom Adams (March 31st, 1982) during a recessionary period; maybe you can observe those things that are similar and those that are different, and you will come to the realisation precisely why Stuart and the DLP are the worse things imaginable for leading Barbados to any growth before totally collapsing the country.
    “The Barbados economy is bound to be profoundly affected by these developments. … In 1981, however, all three of our dynamic sectors – sugar, tourism and manufacturing – suffered significant declines in output of orders of magnitude which could not have possibly been foreseen a year ago. The Government, through its expanded capital investment programme, has tried to cushion this shock by maintaining domestic economic activity in the construction and indirectly in the distribution sectors.
    However since no immediate improvement in the foreign exchange generating sectors is apparent, the time has come to confront certain realities. Despite progress in import-substitution, the facts of life are that Barbados as a small open economy, imports by value an amount equal to over 70% of our Gross Domestic Product — which is the annual value of the output of all goods and services in our economy. Therefore, in order to sustain imports of all kinds – food, fuel, intermediate and capital goods – on which our standard of living depends, we must acquire foreign exchange by exporting goods and services. While foreign exchange reserves can and have been augmented by judicious borrowing, this must be kept within strictly manageable limits and used for investment, not consumption purposes. In the face, therefore of declining foreign exchange earnings and reserve levels, there is no viable option other than adjusting domestic demand to our temporarily reduced capacity to import.
    To put it bluntly, in an economy which is not growing, there is no increased output available to enhance standards of living. If we try to improve our position by paying ourselves more than we are producing in extra output, some may gain at the expense of others, but as a country we will be worse off in real terms – that is in the amount of goods and services we acquire and consume.
    Government’s strategy in the face of this situation, then, is two-fold:
    (i) to pursue policies designed to achieve an adjustment of domestic demand in the light of the constraints imposed by the decline in foreign exchange earnings; and to do this in as equitable a manner as possible and without causing undue social dislocation;
    (ii) to lay the groundwork for future growth so that as soon as the upturn in economic activity comes Barbados will be able to take advantage of the opportunity for renewed growth.

  10. David Avatar
    David

    What is most confusing is that the Opposition has been voicing concerns about the need to cut expenditure and as reported in the media yesterday MAM is oppose to the cuts to UWI, QEH etc. So where should the cuts come?

  11. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    “Moderator Dale Forde posed a very important question to Sir Frank: ‘on the one hand, UWI is supposed to be autonomous and independent, yet its bills are met by central government; so, why can’t government intervene and set a ceiling on entrants?’ (I have paraphrased here).”

    Any journalist worth his/her salt would not have asked such a question. Two of our biggest problems are: hypocrisy and poor journalism.

  12. balance Avatar
    balance

    What is most confusing is that the Opposition has been voicing concerns about the need to cut expenditure and as reported in the media yesterday MAM is oppose to the cuts to UWI, QEH etc.

    what is confusing to me is the seemingly incoherent and feeble opposition response to draconian measures related to the QEH and the reverse tax credit which must of a consequence impact negatively on the livelihood of the already marginalised. Has the politically expedient mantra ‘we are not only an economy but a society’ been discarded and how long did it take the government to realise that there could be no thriving society without a well managed economy.

    and DAVID what is equally confusing is MR INNISS’ casual repudiation of the solid waste levy introduced by the MOF as an error without up to now having been taken to task by a poor opposition or fourth estate.
    what further confuses me about MR INNISS’ pronouncement is this- if the solid waste levy tax is an error, certainly the expectation of revenue attributed to the error cannot be ignored since the revenue yield would have already been factored in the budget formulation plans.
    It is passing strange that MINISTER OF COMMERCE mind you not the MINISTER OF FINANCE did not indicate in his presentation to the party faithful at the luncheon what was the original tax proposal the GOVT had intended to introduce to collect the revenue which would have been collected by the erroneous solid waste levy or if the budget figures would be adjusted to reflect this loss in revenue if the solid waste tax is discarded and replaced by nothing.
    I am wondering if this is another case of thoughtlessness or the laissez-faire approach to governance exhibited by those in charge or is the repudiation of the tax an attempt to appease the lobby of the bigups for certainly those who could not afford and who would now have to pay have no such lobby.

  13. balance Avatar
    balance

    So where should the cuts come?
    Creativity and innovation DAVID. do you not think that a salary of $10.000 and change and perks too should be sufficient to motivate our MINISTERS to think critically? Our system of governance is clear and does not place that burden on the shoulders of the opposition. Their role is to effectively and truthfully represent the interests of their constituents and expose the shortcomings of the those in charge of governing. Sadly they are not doing a good job in this regard. Seems almost as if there is collusion between the two parties.

  14. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    Can a country tax it’s way out of recession? Will Barbados accept a system whereby those who pay taxes will find it difficult to access university education while those who do not pay taxes get “free” education, housing and health benefits. This is known as means testing. Those BU readers who live or have lived in the UK can tell us more of the outcomes of means testing.

  15. David Avatar
    David

    @balance

    The article reported Inniss as saying the quantum of the tax was not in question, just the %. Let us wait to see how long the MoF takes to clarify.

    @Ping Pong

    The government is battling a problem as a result of continuing to build out a nanny state. The problem is compounded because successive governments have failed to efficiently collect revenue. What we know is that current decision making is driven by the need to shore up finances rather than the ideal position of working towards a vision. We are in a bad place and the division and unwillingness of key stakeholders to buy in to the current reality remains foreboding.

  16. Hector Avatar
    Hector

    With easy money from GOB coming to an end at UWI the anti government economists there are concerned. The foreigner Tennyson Joseph who writes an anti government column in the anti government Nation points out that cut backs to UWI will bring staff losses. This is the same Joseph and Ryan Straughan who agitated for cuts in government expenditure. Well theyve got what they wanted and should both be fired immediately to assist UWI’s money woes. Howard and George Belle should also receive pink slips.

  17. balance Avatar
    balance

    Sir Frank Alleyne’s interview on the People’s Business last night was spot-on. As usual, he was cogent, rational, reasonable and, of course, very ‘frank’, no pun intended. All the while, trying not to be overly critical of the administration at Cave Hill, but tacitly showing up its unreasonableness and excessive spending, nonetheless. He walked the proverbial tightrope (having taught there for decades, so he was somewhat circumspect), but he did it well.

    Sir Frank Alleyne’s pronouncements over time and there is no need to repeat them verbatim here have proven him to be a two-mout fellow who has allowed his political blinkers to take precedence over his scholarship and commonsense and calling his credibility into question. What is even more distressing is that a man of his national stature does not seem to understand that it to people like him -the beneficiary of free education- that the uninitiated look for guidance.
    Hear Sir Frank remonstrating to the entire nation on TV in his election night comments” ANYONE PROPOSING A $90 MILLION STIMULUS PACKAGE TO JUMP START THE ECONOMY NEEDS HIS HEAD EXAMINING”
    SCENE TWO- The DLP proposes a $400 million stimulus and not a word from Sir Frank.

    Sir Frank in a recent interview informed that that there was no political interference during his tenure of chairman of the national insurance board between 1986-1994. What Sir Frank seemed to conveniently forget is that after the change in government in 1994,he continued as chairman for some time under the BLP regime and was an advisor to Mr Arthur and was praised by Mr Arthur for his advice in Mr Arthur’s response to Mr Thompson’s first budget presentation.
    Hear what his former colleague, the respected Mr Wendell Mclean had to say -and he should know the man of whom he speaks better than anybody else- about his erstwhile partner and DLP political defector in his column ‘The Way It Is ‘ on February 10, 1991.” Dr Frank Alleyne has the amazing ability to make the most absurd statements with unabashed assertiveness and pugnacious pomposity.
    “According to a recent report in another section of the press, he has asserted that last year’s decline in the output of the furniture and garment industries had nothing to do with taxation and the credit squeeze.
    “…Dr Alleyne’s submission should be interpreted as seeking to absolve Government for the blame for the recession in the economy and as paving the way for higher taxation and a continuation of the credit squeeze. IN OTHER WORDS, IT CAN BE REGARDED AS AN EXERCISE IN CHEAP POLITICS. However, the problem with cheap politics is that it eventually falls victim to the truth.”
    Unfortunately, 22 years hence the modus operandi remains the same.
    See why we are in deep potter.

  18. Very Weird Indeed! Avatar
    Very Weird Indeed!

    There is a senior officer who is non-Barbadian and is very closely connected with the CEO of the UWI, Cave Hill Campus.  She has been hired to keep the CEO informed of all the happenings on the Campus and since the budget, she has been charged by the CEO to mobilise the students and ensure they are organised in their attempts to put pressure on the Government.  

    This non-national of East Indian desent has been marketing the University through the use of “market vendor” for paid advertisements, and they say University has no money.

    She has no choice but to do the CEO’s bidding, but non nationals have been known deported for meddling into the affairs of Government.

    All her efforts, however, are not getting the expected returns because the “town hall” did not get the expected response from the students.  But instead the full house in LT1 of the Roy Marshall turned into a political meeting with a sea of red.

    We await the next move by this non-national, who has to wait for the CEO to advise.  By the way, the CEO left Bim on a paid first class ticket the same day as the “town hall” and returned the next day. I say no more, his cost to taxpayers for his FIRST CLASS AIRLINE TRAVEL UP TO APRIL IS A WHOPPING IN EXCESS OF $ 300,000.00 FOR ALL TRAVEL IN FIRST CLASS.

    While he is using the students as pawns in his game to maintain his extravagant lifestyle and his reckless spending he too needs to submit to our some belt tightening as his runaway University Wild Spending will
    Be Reined in.

  19. Yagga Rowe Avatar
    Yagga Rowe

    Postal workers Salary
    cut by 10%-15%
    sudden so
    Govt administrators doing nonsense
    Is this the way to treat your workers
    who next ?
    ———————————
    Yaaaaaaaaaaaagga Pon Top !!!!

  20. Yagga Rowe Avatar
    Yagga Rowe

    GOV’T getting nasty
    dirty and slimy
    snakes/in de grass
    snakes in dey
    steal in dey
    ignorance in dey
    assholes in dey

  21. Yagga Rowe Avatar
    Yagga Rowe

    When will stop
    Where will it end
    ———————————–
    Yaaaaaaaaaaagga again +again !!!

  22. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    Barbados is a very resilient country. Have no fear we will get over these hurdles in the road.

    Just remember that the Political Party which created the modern Barbados is in charge.

    The Democratic Labour Party will make everything right.

    Relax people!!!!!

  23. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    David
    Do Barbadians (particularly the salaried middle class) understand the financial threat that is about to befall them? Those Barbadians that have scrimped and saved and so managed to acquire a home and maybe a car but are living from paycheck to paycheck will be deemed to be too well off for benefits (education, health, housing etc) even though they pay most of the taxes. They will be told that they must pay at the counter. Those who are deemed poor will be the ones getting the “free” benefits. Overtime the “middle class” is decimated, ironically the poorer class is made poorer with an even more entrenched mendicant attitude. Meanwhile the rich laugh all the way to the bank as Government money flows to them for services they provide. This is privatization (sometimes called outsourcing) of the most perverse and corruption prone form. For example Barbadians are being taxed to pay a private entity for solid waste management. Another example is a private firm being given state land and import duty tax concessions to build houses which end up more costly than other similar sized houses built without the benefits of cheap land and duty free concessions. I expect that shortly the radiological and pathology services will be outsourced.

  24. balance Avatar
    balance

    The article reported Inniss as saying the quantum of the tax was not in question, just the %. Let us wait to see how long the MoF takes to clarify.

    but David -wouldn’t the two be linked?

    according to yesterday’s news-‘ 0.7 PER CENT TAX AN ERROR, SAYS INNISS’ . ” what is printed in the document, i believe is an error,” he said.
    never heard such wishy-washy nonsense on such a regular basis emanating from government spokesmen in all my life. they ought to be thankful that their supporters vote for an institution and not them.
    the attempt to correct would only be palatable if the tax, quantum or percentage is removed or reduced which would still impact on prior budget calculations.

  25. Yagga Rowe Avatar
    Yagga Rowe

    It is a pity that people can gloat and rejoice
    at UWI students as if they are not citizens
    of this country.
    just to justify this wretched GOVT
    ——————————–
    Hector you are A DOG !!!

    ———————————–
    Yaaaaaaaaaaagga —

  26. David Avatar
    David

    @balance

    Yes the two should correlate but typo/errors have been known to occur. Interesting that when Senator McClean called in to the talk show last week she mentioned .07 did she not?

    @Ping Ping

    Yes they are aware insofar as what observation tells them BUT we have a generation of Barbadians who have been conditioned on a consumption lifestyle. The reality is made harder to comprehend and internalize given the divisive political landscape which is a consequence of the adversarial Westminster system we have come to know and love.

    And yes it is a zero sum game. buckle up!

  27. George C. Brathwaite Avatar
    George C. Brathwaite

    @ David

    I am sorry to say, but you have bought into this ‘cut syndrome’ without ‘thinking policy’ that the government has taken, but I may be wrong. David, I have said ad infinitum that there was no need to apply the measures that the MoF used to reel in the UWI. One has to be innovative, and especially in a small developing economy. How about supporting the quest and transitioning of the UWI into research-oriented activities that would attract many more foreign students and related activities such as conferences? How about creating devices that work as incentives on the one hand, and are punitive on the other hand in order to eliminate wastage and extra costs? The MoF has demonstrated, if nothing else, his inability to be an economist of any favourable repute; perhaps, he should fit back into international trade if he has not now compromised his credibility in that arena.
    One does not get to a last resort without attempting intermediary actions, and certainly with something as radical as asking all students to pay their tuition fees at UWI regardless of Campus, is such an overhaul that it would demand public discussion before seeking to push that policy on the people. The MoF and the DLP Cabinet have both failed Barbados miserably. It is not about cutting social goods such as health and education, it is about eliminating wastage, maintaining unmerited social entitlements, ridding Barbados of the constituency councils as currently set-up; and most of all stimulating the domestic economy whilst doing more to attract foreign investment. One answer — reduce some of those taxes that have ran the private sector to the ground and forced consumers to wince in pain. More can be done without destroying the social fabric that made Barbados what it has come to be regionally and internationally.
    The Destructive Lazy Party (DLP) has to revert to its moorings of social democracy and put people first instead of the greed and untruths that are being pushed.

  28. balance Avatar
    balance

    Yes the two should correlate but typo/errors have been known to occur. Interesting that when Senator McClean called in to the talk show last week she mentioned .07 did she not?

    I do not listen to the talk shows since I was introduced to BU and unfortunately I would not pay much attention to what MISS MACLEAN has to say since i believe she is clearly out of her depth.

  29. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    “generation of Barbadians who have been conditioned on a consumption lifestyle”

    What do these words mean? People work for which they receive money. What are they supposed to do with the money? Even if you say invest it, the investment still depends on someone consuming some product or service. If one is saying that money which would have been spent on say education and health was spent on other things i would draw to attention as Simple Simon has remarked, that we have been paying lots of taxes to provide these services. If what was collected from Barbadians has not been enough and the country has been borrowing to support our social services and much else then I am yet to be shown how the present program assists in the fundamental issue of the country earning more money.

  30. Common sense is not common Avatar
    Common sense is not common

    Agree with Ping Pong @ 9:11 a.m.

  31. David Avatar
    David

    @Ping Pong

    Yes Barbadians are taxed higher than others but you have to factor that there has been a seismic shift in the external landscape. Logically therefore WE have to adjust.

    @George

    Does government sit at the table when UWI objectives are being decided? Or is it only about footing the cost? If government is paying does it have the right to question quality of output? How do we define output given national objectives.

  32. George C. Brathwaite Avatar
    George C. Brathwaite

    I can assure you that the government is re[resented in the decision making process. There was a time that the students were not; but all that has changed and the government does sit on the relevant boards and council.

  33. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @balance | August 27, 2013 at 9:15 AM |
    “The article reported Inniss as saying the quantum of the tax was not in question, just the %. Let us wait to see how long the MoF takes to clarify.”

    But balance the above statement does not make sense. Do you wish to clarify?
    As it stands (on the face of it) there is total internal contradiction in the assertion by the Minister Inniss who fancies himself as the next PM of Barbados.

    The question is how can the “Quantum (Amount) not be in question if the Percentage (%) variable is in question? Any change in the % variable will automatically change the amount of the “Municipal Tax” payable on a fixed site value.
    Let us look at a property with a site value of say $100,000.00 which would attract varying amounts (quanta) of tax payable if the rate of tax varies from 7% to 0.07% to 0.007% or $7,000.00 to $700.00 to $70.00. A decimal point (or 0.0% increase LOL!!) can mean the difference between payment and default by a taxpayer on a fixed income but fast eroding purchasing power.

    What the minister should have made clear was that the principle or policy implementation was not in question only the mechanics regarding its calculation.

    If the rationale behind the Municipal Tax is to help defer the cost of collection and disposal of household waste how would the canon of equity be served where people living in government-provided units are not responsible for the payment of land-tax bills? Would the cost be passed on to the occupiers like those in private rented units in the form of higher rents? What about plots of land awaiting construction of houses unless they are being kept in a most overgrown state and used as a dump by the neighbours?

  34. David Avatar
    David

    @George

    Therefore it would be useful to understand if there was buyin to Sir Hilary’s vison by successive governments. There is a lot of managing and political gymnastics which WE the public have now become intolerant.

  35. june boy Avatar
    june boy

    Here are my suggestions to the revised method that should be used at the UWI.
    1)The academic qualification standard of the new students needs to be raised.
    2)Students should be given no more than one extra year to complete a
    degree, any extra will mean full payment by the student.
    3) Free tuition should be for ne degree only, any other to be paid by the
    student.
    4) The academic qualification of Island Scholarships needs to be upgraded
    5) Those students gaining such should be bonded for a period of time
    or the scholarship becomes null and void and full payment to be made.
    6) The parents/guardians who are wealthy enough to pay for their
    students tuition
    7) A method to be used to determine the level of assistance need to
    less fortunate students.
    8) Free education should only be given to degree courses that are needed in the country
    These are some of my suggestions to solve the madness that is now prevailing with the university education in Barbados, Remember this is the brain child of the late Excel The Rt Hon E W Barrow and it is a shame that his own party is about to whip out , destroy that foundation to which most if not all the sitting M.P’s have benefitted from. I guess at this stage they are wealthy enough to take care of their offspring, so they are willing to pull the carpet from under the less fortunate. Mr. Barrow must be very upset where-ever he is. ,

  36. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    Let us examine the waste to energy proposal. Such programs depend on a constant or increasing stream of waste. So the Government is actually hoping that Barbados continues to generate the same level of waste or more. Where is this waste coming from if not as result of consumption? However we are in a recession which appears to be deepening. Is it likely that more waste will be generated in such a period?

    The solid waste recycling program is obviously not self sustaining. The Government owes Williams some $80 million. So in order to pay off that debt every property owner has been taxed. Does this solve the problem of reducing waste? Now that I am taxed more there is no incentive to reduce waste because whether I produce one bag of garbage a week or ten I still have to pay the same amount. Notably my neighbor who is a NHC tenant pays nothing but may actually be producing more waste.

  37. George C. Brathwaite Avatar
    George C. Brathwaite

    @ June Boy
    I know that everyone has an opinion and many of us want to be heard. Please, try to become informed before setting out 8 points that are misleading in several ways inclusive of the fact that some of the very measures are actually in place. Also please, do you know why persons at any level (undergraduate or postgraduate) will stay longer than usual? What is the percentage? Does the institution not inform the students?
    I urge you to get the facts before coming to definitive positions; you may come to the realisation that you are being fed a story to cover up other major weaknesses that are strictly owned by the government. In other words, the MoF and the Stuart Cabinet may be telling you what may move you emotionally rather than what is accurate and reflects the true relationship between the Government of Barbados and the University of the West indies.

  38. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Ping Pong
    Man Chill…you pouring good wine into brass bowls…
    Your logic and reasoning are much too advanced to be understood by most. We prefer to wait 10 years and then acknowledge that you had a serious point.

    @ David
    Hillary trick the foolish politicians ’bout here for years. He realize that each student is worth about $100,000 from the government – and even more if they are dumpsey (since they don’t even bother to go to class).
    He therefore brought them in in droves (including those who can barely pass air…far less exams) and spent the free money on his grand erections…..
    This went on til the money run out…

    This should have been obvious YEARS AGO. …..but, just like the point Ping Pong is making now, we play we can’t think ahead…..

    Steupssss….

  39. David Avatar
    David

    @Bushie

    Your submissions of 4 years ago addressed many of these issues.

  40. Yagga Rowe Avatar
    Yagga Rowe

    Hillary trick the foolish politicians ’bout here for years. He realize that each student is worth about $100,000 from the government – and even more if they are dumpsey ……..

    ****** NOT true !
    a lie
    no evidence to support it

  41. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    How much did it cost UWI to build a cricket field with flood lights, a FIFA quality football pitch and the six lane running track? Juxtapose this with the fact that 70% of the students are female and many are part time and as such few play cricket or football or are involved in athletics and a six lane running is useless for even inter school sports.

    Was it good economic sense to build a faculty of medicine at Cave Hill when there is capacity at Mona and St Augustine? One of the teaching dummies (I am not being insulting or pejorative) used by students cost almost $1 million! Why have a UWI school of business offering a MBA at higher cost than the online universities like Surrey, Liverpool etc)?

    I admit that I am not very knowledgeable about Gov’t financing etc but like gravity some things cannot be ignored.

    Maybe the Government should only buy a limited number of student places at UWI in accordance with predetermined brainpower needs. Significantly expand the polytechnic to provide training of Barbadians in really useful and needed skills in manufacturing, alternative energy technology, construction, mechanical and electrical system installation and maintenance, agriculture and food production, tourism and travel services, medical related services like pharmacy, x-ray, lab testing etc, IT and data processing and web related activities, accounting and financial services and entertainment.

    Make every attempt to ensure that every graduate of secondary school has a certificate in Maths, English, a social science, a natural science and a foreign language. Build another Community College and abolish the sixth forms. Make sure that post-16 year education is meaningful and focused to career development.

    In my vision, UWI should be very much smaller in terms of student numbers and be a research focused institution. The polytechnic should be much larger in size and focused on skill development.

  42. David Avatar
    David

    @Ping Pong

    You raise interesting angles to the debate. Yes consumption is important and there are ramifications to decisions being made. The flip side is that a prerequisite of good education is that those who have benefited must be able to manage/lead our space in a wholesome way.

  43. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @Ping Pong | August 27, 2013 at 12:14 PM |
    “In my vision, UWI should be very much smaller in terms of student numbers and be a research focused institution. The polytechnic should be much larger in size and focused on skill development.”

    Your vision is full of light.
    Your proposed revamping of tertiary education and training to make the BCC and Polytechnic greater players in the economic sustainability and development of the country is most commendable.

    However, the question is whether it is too late to save the Cave Hill Campus from a major restructuring leading to its possible closure as a full fledge Campus.
    Given the large fixed costs on which the Cave Hill campus currently operates it almost impossible to see how it can survive in a new dispensation requiring significant reduction in student intake, abolishing of many irrelevant programmes and curricula and dismantling of its high cost of maintenance sporting facilities.

    As it stands right now the Cave Hill campus faces a very bleak and uncertain future.
    A future in which the major financial backer is fiscally broke and a university education
    is being seen more and more as a luxury by the international lending agencies and also by the local elite who can afford to pay for their 1 or 2 children to study abroad.

  44. Gabriel Tackle Avatar
    Gabriel Tackle

    Fair Play
    **In my book a ‘couple’is two.You went on to mention 11 points.Idyut!
    **In 1975 Frank in a lecture told a class’if you want to waste your time,you can study National Accounting.Lo and behold the first question in the paper was on NA and it was compulsory AND it carried 45 marks.Idyut!
    **In the lead up to the 2008 election,Sir Frank said on radio that Owen Arthur was the one person to have to successfully to manage the economy.
    **Sir Frank and Sir Courtenay are the 2 biggest fence sitters I read in the newspaper.
    **The UWI and the QEH are not the places to cut as much as the EMOLUMENTS of the Governor General and Government House,the Prime Minister and Ilaro Court,all the fat pensions they get(the GG is a retired judge and getting a big pension already)including OSA, Sandy and Mara,all the BIG BELLY MINISTERS and their big salaries,allowances,big rides,first class travel,first class hotel accomodation,Permanent Secretaries and their whopping salaries and facilities,their big pensions..and I can go on to the free bus rides,community councils,free camps,freeness this and that,in other words cut out all the recurring expenses which are the reasons for our high debt ratio to GDP,and which high expenses do nothing to bring in new sources of income.

  45. David Avatar
    David

    @Ping Pong et al

    Keep your ideas coming they are being read by the policy makers.

  46. balance Avatar
    balance

    @balance | August 27, 2013 at 9:15 AM |
    “The article reported Inniss as saying the quantum of the tax was not in question, just the %. Let us wait to see how long the MoF takes to clarify.”

    MILLER THAT IS NOT MY COMMENT; IT WAS DAVID’S RESPONSE AT 8.05 TO A COMENT I MADE EARLIER AT 7.27.

  47. balance Avatar
    balance

    The question is how can the “Quantum (Amount) not be in question if the Percentage (%) variable is in question? Any change in the % variable will automatically change the amount of the “Municipal Tax” payable on a fixed site value
    I AGREE WITH YOU SIR. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY WITHOUT SUCCESS BUT LEARNED MAN THAT YOU ARE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE MORE EXPLANATORY. THANK YOU.

  48. David Avatar
    David

    We have to wait for the explanation, bear in mind the technocrats worked this document.

  49. balance Avatar
    balance

    All the ideas emanating from ping pong and others are commendable and worthy of merit but the issue in my view is not whether something should be done about government’s cost to the university but the manner in which it was done seemingly devoid of taking all the factors into account before making the decision. Certainly, rather than misleading the country last year into believing that there was nothing to worry about in this regard, the PRIME MINISTER could have prepared the wicket by informing that his government was in the process of looking at plans to reduce govt’s debt to the university and students in the very near future might very well have to pay their way or share the costs. Such a statesmanlike position would have given parents and graduates time to put appropriate measures in place to deal with this thief in the night devastating decision. Forward looking thinkers would realise that someday soon, something had to give but it is the thoughtlessness and brutality in execution which have caught many with their pants down that in my view is worthy of condemnation.

  50. Gabriel Tackle Avatar
    Gabriel Tackle

    @ Balance
    Good point but I am yet not convinced that Stuart has a vision for Barbados and where he wants us to be in say 15-20 years.I do not have that confidence in his cabinet.I would posit also that its time we trimmed the number of Ministers and ministries.A small economy like Barbados should have no more than 10 ministries and cut out all these overlapping embassies and overseas missions and have a shared relationship with some of the other Caribbean countries.This job for the boys is counter productive and look where it has got us..where we are afraid to go to the QEH and are worried that investment in education is no longer worth the effort less expensive Barbados administrations got along on and still paid their way.Stuart has no vision for Barbados otherwise he would not allow number crunchers to determine his fate,now weighed in the balance and found wanting.

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