Pundit asks gov’t to eliminate CEPEP, URP and TTT in order to keep GATE and scholarship programmes

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Pundit asks gov’t to eliminate CEPEP, URP and TTT in order to keep GATE and scholarship programmes

The Spiritual head of the Satya Anand Ashram said an unstudied glance at the new GATE qualification for funding clearly shows that a significant percentage of the population stands to be excluded from GATE funding to pursue Higher education.

In a release, pundit Satyanand Maharaj, claimed that since the announcement, he received numerous calls from parents “terrified” that they could not afford tertiary education for their children.

He said the new criteria rewards parents who did not work hard or have a good salary while the middle class who “pays the majority of taxes” and was “the backbone of the economy” was asked to bear another cost.

He believes that the band upper limit of $10,000 excludes the middle class and should be moved to $20,000.

Pundit Maharaj said “While the potential productive potential of the nation is being sifted out of accessing higher education, unproductive elements such as CEPEP (Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme), URP (Unemployment Relief Programme), and TTT (Trinidad and Tobago Television) continue to receive state funding. Why not eliminate CEPEP, and URP that annually drain the treasury of over $600 million TTD? Why not eliminate TTT that no one watches but drains the taxpayers of over $75 million TTD?”

He said government continually demanded that citizens “tighten their belts” but argued that “MPs’ salaries are unaffected…their car allowances continue to subsidise new Mercedes Benz, Range Rovers, etc. as Government tax the poor man foreign used car imports. Which Government Minister child will be denied higher education as a result of limits of income?
“When will the Government realize that the economy cannot be saved by taxing the citizens to brink of poverty?”

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