Expanding GATE on Tertiary Education: Is it justified? (Part 1)
It is a widely accepted fact that tertiary education is one of the major drivers of economic competitiveness in a knowledge-based global economy. Tertiary education is pivotal in the development of any national education policy. It is no longer viewed as an alternative but an imperative to improve employability and overall knowledge levels. Small wonder that emphasis on tertiary education is high on the agenda of emerging market economies, including Trinidad and Tobago.
Within the last 40 years, there has been a paradigm shift in the scope of tertiary education, more popularly known then as ‘higher education’ and which was delivered only in universities. The curriculum consisted largely of teaching in the areas of the humanities, sciences and social sciences for entry into a narrow range of professions such as education, medicine, engineering and law. Today the curriculum is much more diversified and is also conducted in institutions such as polytechnics, university colleges and technical/vocational schools.
In Trinidad and Tobago, tertiary education has been given pride of place by successive governments holding office over the last ten years, with the introduction and continuance of financial assistance for tertiary expenses. Beginning with the Dollar for Dollar Programme in 2001 and upgrading into the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) programme in 2004, all citizens pursuing programmes of study leading to a recognized tertiary level qualification become eligible for government assistance whether the programme is conducted at a local or regional public tertiary level institution or approved local private tertiary level institution.
The objectives of the GATE programme were: to make tertiary education affordable to all, so that no citizen of Trinidad and Tobago would be denied tertiary education because of inability to pay; to widen access to tertiary education that would support economic development and promote social equity and; to build and strengthen a national quality tertiary education sector through both public and private tertiary level institutions, thereby significantly increasing the tertiary participation rate above the level of around 15% which obtained in 2004. The overall objective to increase tertiary level participation to 60% by 2015 is gradually being realised as there was already an increase to 40% by 2008. The goal of 60%, which might have appeared to be ambitious is therefore by no means unachievable, given the success to date.
Accounting for the tax dollar
But what of the cost of such an expanding programme? The record has shown that expenditure under the GATE Programme increased exponentially from $102 million, at the time of its inception in the 2004/2005 fiscal year, to $625 million in fiscal 2010/2011. This figure is projected to increase by a further $25 million to $650 million in fiscal 2011/2012 with the inclusion of the Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme (Level 2). Cumulatively, the cost to taxpayers of subsidising tertiary education in Trinidad and Tobago over the 7-year period 2004 to 2011 is estimated to be in the vicinity of $3 billion.
The Government is cognisant of the fact that with an expenditure of such magnitude there must be accountability to ensure value for money. This was succinctly put by the Minister of Finance when, in the 2011/2012 Budget presentation, he stated that “the GATE programme will now be subject to more rigorous pay-for-performance rules with respect to students to ensure value for money spent and greater accountability will be required from the institutions that are registered in this programme”.
With this in mind, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education (MSTTE), prepared a Report titled “Policies, Administration and Performance of the GATE Programme: 2004-2011”, in which a general overview is presented on the status of the programme to date. The Ministry has been engaged in national consultations with various stakeholders (including the Chamber) with a view to garnering the views of the public and then charting the way forward.
In light of the abuses identified in the Report, one way of measuring the benefits of the GATE programme in terms of student participation, is for the MSTTE to compile data on the percentage of students, at the various public and private institutions, who have successfully completed their courses of study and within the stipulated time frame. The MSTTE will also need to follow through and enforce its student performance policy for private institutions where students are required to maintain the minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) based on the GPA policy of the respective institutions. It is heartening to note that from January 2012, the MSTTE plans to implement the student performance policy with respect to public tertiary institutions.
In addition, there must be full enforcement of the terms and conditions as spelt out in the Student Agreement particularly where it relates to students fulfilling their obligations, in terms of national service, on completion of their course of study.
