THE Government yesterday said it was examining ways to assist “needy students” at the tertiary level after scores of University of the West Indies, Mona students were on Tuesday deregistered for failing to pay outstanding fees owed to the university.

As a result of the deregistration, students, including some in their final year, have been barred from sitting exams scheduled for later this month.

The university, in a March 27 reminder to undergraduate and post-graduate students, said those with outstanding balances prior to Semester II 2016-2017 would not be allowed to sit exams.

It added that final-year students must pay all outstanding fees, including fees for Semester II, in full by Tuesday, April 18, 2017, to avoid deregistration.

Yesterday, in an e-mailed response to a

Jamaica Observer query on whether $100 million to be allocated to the university to assist financially challenged students would also cover final-year students, the education ministry said no.

“The Government is examining different ways to help needy students. Consideration is being given to using a combination of loans through Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) and Jamaica Values and Attitudes Project for Tertiary,” it said.

The ministry added that its representatives will meet with students first to ascertain how best the Government can help in the circumstances.

A meeting was scheduled to be held with Students Guild, the university’s administration and SLB at 7:00 pm yesterday.

“A decision on how to address arrears of final-year students has not yet been agreed,” the ministry said.

At the same time, the ministry, in a news release yesterday, said that Government has allocated $300 million to help financially challenged Jamaican students at UWI, University of Technology (UTech) and the Caribbean Maritime Institute.

Education Minister Senator Ruel Reid said the allocation to UWI was conveyed at last week’s meeting of the UWI Grants Committee at the Cave Hill campus in Barbados. The funds from the ministry’s budget, he said, will be made available in September.

In the meantime, Senator Reid said, any assistance offered to final-year students will require them to do community service and will require bonding.

The UWI Guild of Students told the

Observer that while the body is not averse to the requirement of bonding, Government must ensure that jobs are readily available for these graduates.

“We are grateful for the prompt response as so many students are anxious. To see the Government taking on this issue as a national one brings home the point that the cost of tertiary education is something that we need to address.

“We appreciate that in helping students it is a sacrifice that they would have to make. We are okay with that. However, the point must be made that the Government needs to look at the fact that there might not be enough jobs in our country to facilitate something like that,” Guild President Mikaela Gonzales said.

She said more discussion on the matter needs to be had.