Most classes at the University of Belize’s campuses in Belize
City and Belmopan were cancelled today because of a mass sickout by faculty
and staff. The sickout was in protest of the university’s proposal for
an increment freeze for three years. And parallel to opposition about the increment
freeze - there is growing unrest among students about another proposal to reportedly
increase tuition by 500%. Under the proposal, the cost per credit hour would
skyrocket from $30 per credit hour to $150 per hour. It is a proposal for a
monumental increase and one that the Belize City student body president Jamaal
King says students simply cannot afford to pay. We spoke to him following a
meeting with students this morning.
Jamaal King, UB Student Government President
“At first the cost for tuition per credit hour was $29 for Associate’s
Degree and now it is going to be $150. So we could see that is a 500% increase
and that’s a travesty. And in the case of Bachelor’s Degree, they
will be increasing from $90 per credit hour to $150 per credit hour as well.”
Keith Swift,
“So you guys are saying you cannot afford that?”
Jamaal King,
“Well definitely we cannot afford that. That’s too much. That’s
too high for us and the fact at this moment the economy is in such a dire state
as well. An increase in fees, that will just result with a drop in the percentage
of enrolment. We are against everything. We are against the increase in all
the fees.”
Keith Swift,
“You realize that might seem unreasonable given the fact that the teachers
don’t want to take their increment freeze and the students don’t
want an increase in fees, what should the university do?”
Jamaal King,
“Well in the case of that as I mentioned we do not agreed to anything
like that. What we could do is to go back to the drawing board and to discuss
and to renegotiate a plan of action and a way in which we can resolve this.”
The students plan to participate in tomorrow’s protest with faculty
in Belmopan. An extraordinary meeting of the UB board has been scheduled for
Thursday to discuss the increment freeze and the tuition increase proposal.
Email
Print