Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter

PERMANENT SECRETARY in the Ministry of Education Audrey Sewell has admitted that the two-year-old Government revolving loan scheme for teachers pursuing tertiary studies has been hit by cash flow problems.

However, she said there was no need for alarm as the ministry has been able to "work through our problems and challenges".

Teachers have complained bitterly that in recent times they have not been able to access loans from the institution administering the scheme.

Capital and Credit Merchant Bank Limited (CCMB) finances 90 per cent of the tuition fees for teachers studying at the tertiary level under the Government programme.

Letter of commitment

A disgruntled teacher who spoke to The Gleaner on condition of anonymity said she received a letter of commitment from the bank in August to finance a significant part of her tuition cost.

"I took that to registration and based on that I was accepted. But to complete registration you have to make a payment or bring in a statement that the fees would be paid," she said.

However, Sewell argued that it was not a secret that the ministry was experiencing a cash flow problem. "We are in dialogue with the Ministry of Finance and sometimes we don't get the funds as we were promised but the place is not shutting down," she said.

She chided teachers for taking their grouses to the media without first contacting the ministry. "I don't know that they have a problem because it was not brought to our attention," she told The Gleaner.

She argued that the ministry provided commitment letters to public and private educational institutions when there was no cash. "And none of those students, not one of them have been thrown out of any of the universities, neither public nor private."

No comment

When contacted branch manager at CCMB, Owen Ferguson, said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the matter. "It's a matter that is properly spoken to by the relevant persons in the Ministry of Education and possibly some other government entity," he said.

One tertiary institution has given the assurance that students would not be barred, at least for one full semester, if registration payments were made and commitment letters from a financial entity were produced.

Totlyn Oliver, public relations officer for The Mico University College, told The Gleaner that the institution would facilitate students for about eight weeks without tuition payment. However, she said an initial cost, covering registration of $10,500, would have to be paid first.