Govt to adjust GATE in August

Despite local and global economic trends of falling energy prices, and the urgent need to reduce public spending, the ministry said, Government has provided continued access to tertiary education through means testing and adjusted loan ceilings to help those who may still be unable to meet necessary costs.

Effective August 2017, only programmes and institutions accredited by the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago will be eligible for funding under the GATE Programme.

However, the ministry said, “this policy has not yet been effected, hence it cannot be said that ‘some public institutions are not accredited but access GATE funding’.” Policies governing the GATE programme have been carefully implemented after extensive consultation and review, the ministry said.

From the inception of the GATE programme in 2004 up to the 2015/2016 academic year, the ministry said, Government spent over $6.3 billion covering programmes that ranged from technical and vocational training to PhD studies.

Government spends substantial sums in support of tertiary level education through national scholarships, Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) and the Financial Assistance (Studies) Programme.

Though the HELP Programme increased its ceiling from $25,000 to $35,000 for students studying locally, the ministry said, only three percent of the student population has accessed the loans in the past.

The quota system the People’s Partnership government introduced in February 2015 for students enrolled in medical programmes at the University of the West Indies Mona and Cave Hill campuses was rescinded by the current PNM Government in December 2015.

In respect of St George’s University, Grenada, only ten students were funded in 2015/2016 with no further intake.

While Government continues to adhere to the mandate of the 2000 Dakar commitment to Education for All, it is important to note that tertiary education participation increased from approximately eight per cent in 2002 to the estimated 65.23 per cent in 2015. The targeted tertiary participation rate of at least 60 per cent by 2015 has been exceeded. The current level of tertiary participation, the ministry said, “compares favourably with the rate for developed countries.” Giving a background to the current situation, the ministry said, Government is experiencing significant reduction in revenues and foreign exchange earnings as a result of the falling prices of oil and gas. The price of oil has fallen from a high of US$128 in early 2011 to a low of US$30 in 2015 and currently selling for about US$48 representing some 63 percent decline from 2011 to 2016.

When the GATE Programme was established in 2004, oil prices ranged from US$40 to US$50 a barrel. The subsidy for both postgraduate and undergraduate programmes at that time was 50 per cent of tuition fees. In 2004, students who were unable to pay 50 per cent of tuition fees, were able to access full tuition on completion of a means test. As oil prices increased in 2006, Government introduced free tertiary education at the undergraduate level.

While governments in developed and developing countries have over the last decade reduced public funding of tertiary education due to constrained economic circumstances, Trinidad and Tobago is the only country in the English-speaking Caribbean which currently provides free tertiary level tuition support at the undergraduate level.

In 2016, the GATE programme the review of the programme to ensure sustainability of funding found that most of the recipients are from families which fall in the middle to high income groups.

The re-introduction of means testing in 2017/2018 was identified as one of the adjustments that should be made to the GATE programme.