THE Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) is accusing the Government of attempting to muzzle long-serving Executive Director of the Student’s Loan Bureau, Lenice Barnett.Related stories:SLB executive director axed No 100% increase in tertiary fees — Holness

The termination of Barnett – announced in a press release and before staff were informed – came just two weeks after Minister of Education Andrew Holness moved swiftly to contradict her

recent estimation that tertiary fees would have to be doubled.

“The Opposition will not allow the minister or the ministry to attempt to expediently sanitise the organisation in order to quietly implement policy that will curtail the ability of the organisation to assist students in need to access tertiary education,” said opposition spokesman on education Basil Waite.

Waite said that the dismissal of Barnett showed that Jamaica Labour Party administration is willing to “muzzle persons who the government seem to believe have spoken ‘out of turn’ in making professional observations.”

He called for the minister to clarify the circumstances and precise reasons for the dismissal and and assure that with the new semester just two weeks ago that students will still be able to access their loans.

The two-paragraph statement on the dismissal which did not acknowledge Barnett’s years of service at the bureau is also evidence that Government does not care about its civil servants, claimed Waite.