The West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT) is calling on officials at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, to not increase student fees.
The call was made after campus principal Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine revealed on Tuesday that there has been a steady decline in the university’s revenue due to reduced enrolment and lower government subventions in 2021 and 2022.
Although Belle Antoine did not specifically speak of the option of raising student fees, WIGUT president, Dr Indira Rampersad warned that doing so would further hurt the institution.
Dr Rampersad said in a Newsday interview: “We cannot depend wholly on student fees. Our students themselves were struggling even before COVID and post-COVID. It is aggravated because their parents, many of them, are out of jobs.”
Dr Rampersad said there have been cuts in subvention over the last five years.
She said $50 million is owed to the UWI by governments across the region and the Vice Chancellor has been attempting to mitigate the losses by seeking assistance from international stakeholders.
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