Some Critchlow Labour College (CLC) students complained yesterday that they were being denied their timetables for this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination because of outstanding college fees.
However, the college’s administration said, while the students would not be denied their right to write the examinations, a serious approach to collecting fee arrears was not unreasonable given the withheld government subvention.
Some students attending the institution told this newspaper that they had approached the authorities at CLC to uplift their timetables to write the May–June exams and were bluntly told that they would need to settle their accounts first. One student, who admitted owing the institution, said she did not pay because there were countless occasions when lecturers did not attend classes and she was forced to seek extra lessons elsewhere, which cost more. “So I cannot pay two places … but I am registered here and I paid for my exams and I think they should give me my timetable. I didn’t pay fees because I was not satisfied that I was being taught enough,” the student who spoke on the condition of anonymity told this newspaper.
Another student told Stabroek News that she too owed the institution. However, she said she had not been able to access private tutoring. She said that the lecturers of Mathematics and English were the most dedicated and usually showed up, so she only had problems with Social Studies , the other subject she has signed up to write at the upcoming examinations.
Another student explained that a group of students had come together to pay a Social Studies lecturer to teach the subject and assist them with putting together their School-Based Assessments as part of fulfilment of the syllabus. According to him, the students paid the lecturer $1,000 each.
Contacted for a comment yesterday, Chairman of the CLC Board, Andrew Garnett, told Stabroek News that the institution has never in the past denied students the opportunity to write their examinations because they owed the college. Asked whether students were faced with the ultimatum if they did not clear their accounts, Garnett told this newspaper that the college’s accountant informed him that some office staff might have used the “hard line” when students went to uplift their timetables.
“We have never prevented students from writing their exams because they owe us fees, but there must be a strategy to get them to pay,” he said.
Garnett said he felt the strategy was unofficially used and he would investigate further. However, he said, although such a position had not been sanctioned by the board, if it were to be used, he felt it was not unreasonable.
He said students are allowed to pay their fees in up to seven instalments, the last of which had been due in February and students were made aware of this through a circular. He said some 25 students have since cleared their accounts while a number of others still owed the college.
He said the coordinators of the college’s academic programme have also asked the students to pay up their fees and some have claimed that they cannot afford to pay.
Their duty
According to Garnett, even in the absence of the government subvention, which was some $34 million last year, many of the lecturers continued to be committed and had gone to the college and taught the students. He acknowledged though that at time some lecturers were unable to make it and so have been absent from classes.
He told this newspaper that for last year alone, students owed the college up to $9 million. “They have to pay their fees, it is their duty. Some of them go ahead and sit their exams and then go about their business and we still have the lecturers to pay. This will cause our already outstanding indebtedness to go up,” he said. He told this newspaper that even in the absence of the subvention, the college has not raised it fees, which stand at $10,000 per subject, per year. He said every effort was being made to keep the fee structure where it was. He said the college’s administration was cognisant that many of the persons attending the college were from low-income households. He noted that fees at private institutions were much steeper.
The college is still a month behind in its payment to lecturers, he revealed too, and was still in the process of balancing its expenses.
“We’ve never prevented anyone from writing exams because they have not paid but we have to impress upon them the need to pay. Surely it will not be fair to the other students coming in, so we have to keep the institution going,” he stressed.
Success stories
Even as there has been no definite word as to when or if the institution would regain its government subvention, Garnett said he remained optimistic that good sense would prevail.
“Many started at Critchlow. There are loads of success stories coming out of this organisation and we have a corps of lecturers who are committed because they knew that in the days of the subventions they got their fees on time ,” he said.
He told Stabroek News too that many students started off at the institution and did the one year programme , were able to move on to CSEC and have since received first degrees from the University of Guyana. He noted too that it has provided a path for continuing education for many school dropouts .
“What we are doing is making a contribution and not only providing education for school drop-outs, but contributing to the nation’s development and making people employable,” Garnett, who has chaired the board since 2004, said. “So, I am still optimistic that good sense will prevail. We are an invaluable institution to society.”
He was sure that the government’s decision to withhold the subvention was not an issue of accountability.
However, he said he felt the CLC board could be strengthened with more noted educators once the relevant amendments of its bylaws are made. The multi-party board currently consists of government , private sector , trade union , University of Guyana and public representatives.
