KINGSTON, Jamaica – Opposition spokesperson on Education and Youth, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith is calling on Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites to clarify the Government’s position on the treatment of Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) applicants by the Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB).

Senator Johnson Smith said, “While we are all aware of the need to reform the funding of tertiary education, as a country we must ensure that there is equity and access for our young people. If the Government, through the Ministry of Education, is mandating limited access to funding for certain disciplines we would be concerned because in a democratic society, the government’s policy should not be to exclude students because of their interests.”

“There is a better way,” she insisted.??According to the Opposition spokesperson on education, the Students’ Loan Bureau should introduce a loan framework which balances national development with freedom of choice. 

“This could be done by introducing different interest rates, bonding arrangements and repayment periods combined in different ways, depending on the course of study to be pursued,” said Senator Johnson Smith.?”Aligning better interest rates, bonding arrangements and repayment periods with areas important for national development would balance choice and market needs, but would not completely exclude young people without interest or ability in STEM areas for example, who need financial support for tertiary education,” she continued.??In a news release on Tuesday, Senator Johnson Smith explained that the Jamaica Labour Party’s policy direction first announced in 2009 was that the SLB should offer incentives to young people to encourage them to take up studies in areas important to national development – and that these would certainly include STEM subjects. The intention however, was not to exclude or bar young people from getting loans to study in areas of interest to them.