UWI denies students because parents can’t pay
Afather is fuming after he said that his son was told he would not be able to pursue medicine at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, after his application for self-financing the degree programme was denied due to his parents failing a ‘means test’.
“According to an email received from Students Affairs, his parents did not pass the means test, primarily due to the fact that there were not enough supporting documents to prove that I am able to pay the required tuition of US$28,000 per year,” Dudley Powell told THE STAR.
A section of the email which Powell showed THE STAR indicated that the application was processed “for the self-financing bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery degree programme”.
However “... we regret to advise that you did not pass the means test,” it said. “Please feel free to contact us if you have additional supporting documents to prove that you are able to pay the US$28,000 per year.”
Powell, an educator for the past 32 years, said he is now “concerned about the Government’s preparedness to assist students who have demonstrated the intellectual capacity to achieve their career goal but are lacking financial assistance.”
Powell admitted he wasn’t even aware of the means test until he made some inquiries.
“You have to fill out a form and they assess your financial status, then based on their assessment, they determine if you can afford to get your child enrolled in the programme,” he said. “That is $3.3 something million in Jamaican money. I would have to convince them that I can afford that amount of money, which is not possible just for now. Because of that, he’s at Mona, but not in medicine because I just can’t afford the US$28,000. So I’m hoping that next year my financial situation increases.”
His son is currently enrolled in another programme, and will, hopefully, switch to medicine after a year.
“Ever since he started preschool, the thought of becoming a medical doctor resonated in him. Being cognisant of the requirement to get into medical school, matriculation was never an issue for him as he worked tirelessly just to achieve the grades,” he said.
Powell says his son now feels like he wasted his time in high school studying subjects related to medicine.