The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

AMID mounting debate over funding for the College of the Bahamas, Prime Minister Perry Christie claimed that “there was no proposed budget cuts” as far as he was aware.

Speaking to the press outside the college’s main campus on Thompson Blvd, Mr Christie said that there was never any proposed budget cuts nor was there intention on his administration’s part to “compromise education”.

“As far as I’m aware, there was no proposed budget cuts,” he said to reporters.

“All we’ve been saying to the College of the Bahamas is that if you are able to streamline and cut out excesses, but not budget cuts. We’re not going to compromise education at all. There’s no plan to compromise education and that includes the College of the Bahamas.”

Two weeks ago, Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald dismissed claims that a proposed $2.5 million cut would affects the services and quality of education at the College.

“It was made clear,” his statement said, “in the letter of 20th December, 2012, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has absolutely no intention of reducing subventions to the College of The Bahamas that would cause a reduction in quality or level of services to the public or any forced reduction in head count.

“As Minister of Education, I accept my responsibility to ensure that my Ministry minimises waste, improves efficiencies and reorganises our priorities to ensure that we are able to effectively match the demands of the Ministry of Education Science and Technology.”

In late December 2012, the Ministry of Finance informed all public corporations and statutory entities that in light of the current economic situation and associated fiscal burden, the government will have to reduce its subsidies to them.

This is to include COB, which incurs an initial 10 per cent reduction taking effect in the 2013/2014 fiscal year, and an increased reduction to 25 per cent in total by the 2014/2015 fiscal year.

COB president Dr Betsy Vogel Boze has said that it would be very challenging to move to university status while the organisation faces cuts to subsidies, but the college would make use of what is being given to the institution over the next two years while continuing the transition of the college to university.

The Tribune understands that 70 per cent of the college’s annual operating budget, $49.6 million– as of June 30, 2012 according to COB’s most recent and accessible fact sheet - is allocated towards salaries for 300 faculty members of the college.

The remaining 30 per cent is spent towards anything that is not salaries like utility bills, maintenance, supplies, library acquisitions, scholarships, academic investment, among other things.

In the face of proposed subsidy cuts, COB’s senior administration recommended that tuition be raise to substitute for those cuts, which in turned raised the ire of the student body who protested both the subsidy cuts and subsequent recommendation that tuition be increased as a result of those cuts.

As it stands now, the student union of COB intends to present the College Council with the findings of its survey into how students feel about the recommended tuition increase in the wake of government’s cut to COB funding.

When asked if he planned to meet with the student body of COB, Prime Minister Christie, though he expects it to take place at some point, said that “the Minister of Education has done that.”

“For us, clearly we understand the importance of education, and clearly we’re going to do everything possible to ensure that education is fostered and promoted you know, and that’s our commitment,” the prime minister said.