The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde has poured cold water on the idea that university education in Barbados – and elsewhere in the Caribbean – should be free.
Lagarde said Friday that she personally supported the idea of scholarships and free tertiary education for students whose family could not afford it.
However, her view was that students “above a certain threshold” should be asked to make a contribution to the financing badly needed by all universities.
Nevertheless, she underscored the importance of countries investing heavily in education. She said education was probably one of the best ways to reduce inequality in the society and a development that gave young people the required skills sets for the job market and for being part of the fabric of society.
She made the comments at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Jamaica, responding to questions from students – including one from Barbados – about the wisdom of governments’ moves to trim funding to the UWI and making students pay something for their education.
In the question-and-answer segment that followed a lecture streamed live on the Internet, Lagarde also admitted a preference for establishing quotas across the globe for women, with a view to reducing the large advantage men have in areas including employment.
She said she had changed her position because in some organisations it was clear that it would take women centuries to make headway on gender balance. (TY)
