The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

AMID the ongoing dispute over planned funding cuts at the College of the Bahamas, the COB student union is calling for a freeze on tuition charges until the college becomes a university.

COBUS held a joint press conference with several other unions on Sunday, where all of the organisations hit out at COB’s senior administrative team for its lack of consultation on the way forward following the government’s call to “streamline and cut out excesses.”

The administration has unilaterally recommended to the College Council an increase in student tuition of $25 per credit, per year, for two years and suspend new programmes, among other things, according to COBUS.

“As the stakeholders of COB, senior administration should be including and consulting us on all decision-making matters, believing and investing in our worth and value, remaining responsible, transparent, and accountable to us and the general public, encouraging healthy debate and discussion, and remaining centred on us as we continue to be centred on the benefit of the college as a whole,” the student union said.

“We encourage our leaders, both in the government of the Bahamas and the senior administration, to explore and to garner avenues of cost-savings, revenue generation, and Bahamian-inhabitant investment. We pivot for leadership and governance on the principles of vision, collaboration, inclusion, transparency, accountability, teamwork, pro-activity, human investment and relations, among others.

“We call for the truth. We petition for the sustainment and eventual increase of the government’s investments in the subvention and scholarships of COB and education across all borders in the country.

“And we strongly request the freeze on the current tuition until the college transitions to university status, the investment and advancement of programmes at COB, and the repair and improvement of infrastructural, academic, systemic, philosophical, athletic, technological, and service problems presently faced at COB.”

The Union of Tertiary Educations of the Bahamas (UTEB) reiterated their concerns over “the slowly deteriorating state of affairs” and the “quality of leadership” at COB.

“As a result of the crisis in leadership, COB itself is in crisis,” UTEB said. “This crisis is made even more noticeable as a result of the government’s proposed plans to cut its subvention to the college and president and senior administrators’ lack of foresight in anticipating and planning for such an occurrence – despite past indicators that such an event was looming.”

The union also criticised the college’s administration for “showing no interest” in genuine co-operation with stakeholders and for not making financial documents – COB’s budget, revenue, expenditures and executive appointments – available when requested.

The Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) said the “current financial crisis” at COB is just the latest in a string of “arbitrary crippling, harmful administrative practices and irresponsible leadership decisions” that are destroying morale at the college.

The BPSU said “major concerns” include expired industrial agreements for staff and recent promotions.

The Public Managers Union (PMU) said they were invited to meet with the college’s president to “assist in helping to dig the institution out of a financial bind” but were not provided with the college’s last audited statement.

“We find it troubling that the president would seek our assistance in the resource management of the institution without providing us with the necessary data to allow for informed discussions,” the PMU said. “We also find it troubling – on so many levels – that the college only has audited financial statements prior to 2010.”