The Nation’s Online Editor Carol Martindale looks at What’s Trending today in Barbados.
Financial issues at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus is the focus today of many of our online readers.
Principal Sir Hilary Beckles was busy yesterday meeting with staff and department heads to apprise them of of the university’s dire financial straits.
Our readers have been giving their views on this issue.
Michael Lewis: “I sincerely hope that our governments DLP or BLP will continue to provide free education and health care. Allow students a maximum of four years to complete their degrees. After that they pay the remaining cost. It is sad to see our economy in this poor condition and money being spent in non-essential areas.”
Amy Scott-Simon: “I know someone is going to disagree with me but whatever. Up the petty fees to $1000 -$1500 (can’t be compared to what government pays), up the pass mark to 75 per cent (the ones that really want it will work for it) as someone said give students four to five years to complete their degree. Let those who change faculties after the second year pay for their own degree (because two or three years money gone down the drain)….”
Jamar Beckles, in response said: “All of these suggestions would require an extremely vast change in operation throughout UWI, especially the faculty you and I were/are in. This would require greater attention to timetables to eliminate clashes, a much better teacher evaluation system to weed out the bad lecturers, resetting the marking weighting system for course work and exam work and even a review/revamp of the curriculum in some instances, as well as forming new courses from already overloaded courses. Interestingly enough, if all of these things were done without following your raise of fees etc, greater output would be seen at UWI….”
