IT’S imperative now that we call a spade a spade and make the necessary changes to curb corruption within our country as we have been a developing country for far too long.
This unfortunately will only come through a legislative and political will.
The first step is investing in our young people’s education but our government seems to be stifling our students and their ability to pay for their education.
Recently, I came across a student not able to get a job suited to his educational background, and having gotten an additional scholarship was forced to turn down the government job placement offer to them.
The reason was that the student had completed his masters and CPA ( someone who has earned a professional designation as a certified public accountant) however, their scholarship was only given for their first undergraduate degree, a bachelor of arts. So he approached the Ministry of Education and asked for a job in his educational field however, he was told he would only be placed in a lower-level job paying around $3,000 to $5,000 per month as his scholarship was not given to him to complete his masters, further his education or get a designation.
So in other words take it or leave it. Whatever the ministry offers, you must take it or pay back the scholarship loan at a rate much higher than the banks offer within Trinidad and Tobago. A rate of 7.75% per annum is what was offered as the interest rate to repay the scholarship’s loan to the MOE.
Much more than the banks charge for a loan to individuals yet the Ministry of Education is charging these poor students that can’t accept the jobs offered at these minimum wages at outrageous rates. When the student opts to repay the scholarship loan, our Ministry of Education is digging out the students’ eyes, as well as their parents’ eyes.
This is harsh and oppressive to our students and their parents. Imagine newly educated students and their parents having to face these types of challenges as they now leave school. After raking and scraping to afford to pay for their students lodge transport books and food for four years.
Now to go into debt to the government at this early stage of their development just because they have used their initial scholarship to go further and specialise with a masters degree or further their education.
I hope that the majority of the populace understand what the government is doing to these poor students and their parents.
If these poor misguided souls who would have signed anything the government put in front of them because at the time they were offered the scholarship because of their predicament they really had no choice.
They would sign anything to afford the school fees, as they couldn’t have afforded the school fees in the first place, now they have to face this. The Ministry of Education is taking advantage of them.
It shows that the Government really doesn’t care about these people or their plight, they just insist on their pound of flesh stating that they will charge the student and their guarantor 7.75% interest on a settlement of the scholarship loan at an interest rate way above the bank’s rate. So students be aware! Don’t defer your scholarships and go on to further studies to better yourselves. You will regret it.
This is just another element of the corruption matrix in Trinidad and Tobago to oppress and keep the qualified student in debt to the government forever and defeat the very people we want to develop to a position where they can be a productive educated person for our country in the future. Trinidad and Tobago seem all too willing to allow their corporations to perpetuate the principles of corruption for profit and to destroy the very backbone of our democracy, our young educated people.
This is definite proof that this Government is totally incapable of running anything effectively and their inability to manage our educational institutions is another appalling example. They are unable to protect us and to protect our basic rights within our nation. Lord help us!
Neil Gosine is an insurance executive. He is also the treasurer of the UNC and a former chairman of the National Petroleum Marketing Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration MBA, BSC in Mathematics and a BA in Administrative Studies. The views and comments expressed in this column are not necessarily those of AZP News, a Division of Complete Image Limited.
Another Corruption Matrix: Keeping Students in Debt
IT’S imperative now that we call a spade a spade and make the necessary changes to curb corruption within our country as we have been a developing country for far too long.
This unfortunately will only come through a legislative and political will.
The first step is investing in our young people’s education but our government seems to be stifling our students and their ability to pay for their education.
Recently, I came across a student not able to get a job suited to his educational background, and having gotten an additional scholarship was forced to turn down the government job placement offer to them.
The reason was that the student had completed his masters and CPA ( someone who has earned a professional designation as a certified public accountant) however, their scholarship was only given for their first undergraduate degree, a bachelor of arts. So he approached the Ministry of Education and asked for a job in his educational field however, he was told he would only be placed in a lower-level job paying around $3,000 to $5,000 per month as his scholarship was not given to him to complete his masters, further his education or get a designation.
So in other words take it or leave it. Whatever the ministry offers, you must take it or pay back the scholarship loan at a rate much higher than the banks offer within Trinidad and Tobago. A rate of 7.75% per annum is what was offered as the interest rate to repay the scholarship’s loan to the MOE.
Much more than the banks charge for a loan to individuals yet the Ministry of Education is charging these poor students that can’t accept the jobs offered at these minimum wages at outrageous rates. When the student opts to repay the scholarship loan, our Ministry of Education is digging out the students’ eyes, as well as their parents’ eyes.
This is harsh and oppressive to our students and their parents. Imagine newly educated students and their parents having to face these types of challenges as they now leave school. After raking and scraping to afford to pay for their students lodge transport books and food for four years.
Now to go into debt to the government at this early stage of their development just because they have used their initial scholarship to go further and specialise with a masters degree or further their education.
I hope that the majority of the populace understand what the government is doing to these poor students and their parents.
If these poor misguided souls who would have signed anything the government put in front of them because at the time they were offered the scholarship because of their predicament they really had no choice.
They would sign anything to afford the school fees, as they couldn’t have afforded the school fees in the first place, now they have to face this. The Ministry of Education is taking advantage of them.
It shows that the Government really doesn’t care about these people or their plight, they just insist on their pound of flesh stating that they will charge the student and their guarantor 7.75% interest on a settlement of the scholarship loan at an interest rate way above the bank’s rate. So students be aware! Don’t defer your scholarships and go on to further studies to better yourselves. You will regret it.
This is just another element of the corruption matrix in Trinidad and Tobago to oppress and keep the qualified student in debt to the government forever and defeat the very people we want to develop to a position where they can be a productive educated person for our country in the future. Trinidad and Tobago seem all too willing to allow their corporations to perpetuate the principles of corruption for profit and to destroy the very backbone of our democracy, our young educated people.
This is definite proof that this Government is totally incapable of running anything effectively and their inability to manage our educational institutions is another appalling example. They are unable to protect us and to protect our basic rights within our nation. Lord help us!
Neil Gosine is an insurance executive. He is also the treasurer of the UNC and a former chairman of the National Petroleum Marketing Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration MBA, BSC in Mathematics and a BA in Administrative Studies. The views and comments expressed in this column are not necessarily those of AZP News, a Division of Complete Image Limited.