The Government of Saint Lucia will continue to assist students with scholarships, Education Minister Shawn Edward said on Monday, noting that government-through a partnership with Monroe College has helped several students.
Edward told reporters that education is a key area for government and that “as a small island developing state where we do not have natural mineral resources, we (government), understand that it is the quality of our human resource base more than anything else that will determine how Saint Lucia fares on the international stage.”
According to the minister, the First Generation Scholarship Programme (which government embarked on in collaboration with Monroe College) will make opportunities available for students to pursue their interests. However, he said this opportunity is only available for students who are coming from families “where absolutely nobody has been exposed to higher education; once they have the aptitude and the prerequisites to enter the programmes we will meet them halfway.”
Edward noted that whilst some students are proficient, many of them are affected by socioeconomic circumstances.
In some cases, he explained, “parents do not have the means… (and) those children have been left to languish. With this First Generation Scholarship Programme we are saying … government is meeting you halfway irrespective of where you’re from (or) your political affiliation.”
Apart from the First Generation Programme, government also provides 17 scholarships annually to students in collaboration with Monroe College. However this is merely a glimpse of what government has done so far, Edward stated.
The minister said that “we’re not working only with Monroe College but as a government we have placed on the record in parliament and elsewhere that we have a moral responsibility to the University of the West Indies to ensure that UWI continues to thrive as a flagship institution. For the first time (the Philip J Pierre led administration has) put measures in place” to assist Saint Lucians studying with UWI “away from the landed campuses- the landed campuses being Cave Hill in Barbados, St Augustin in Trinidad and Mona in Jamaica.”
Traditionally, students “would’ve qualified for economic cost if (they) were studying at one of the landed campuses … persons were enrolling with the University of the West Indies via the Open Campus … This term we have made it possible for Saint Lucians studying with UWI via the Open Campus to qualify for government assistance. We have rolled out the Uni Pass which is basically a programme where we provide financial resources to Saint Lucians who have probably embarked on their own on a journey of higher education but they’ve encountered difficulties along the way.”
Edward said the programme is tailored in such a way that students who are stranded “with one year to go… can come to the Ministry of Education, complete an application and based on the criteria we will help you get out of your difficulties.”