UWI: Fee increase will not take place this year

Students walk past the administration building of the UWI St Augustine campus. - File photo by Angelo Marcelle

THE UWI, St Augustine, campus said all students will be exempt from paying the approved 20 per cent tuition fee increase during the upcoming academic year.

In a news release on August 20, UWI said the decision to increase the tuition fees for the St Augustine campus by 20 per cent was made by UWI’s highest authority, the University Council, on May 2. It said the consensus decision was made after extensive consultation and research through a special fee committee comprising guild-appointed representatives, actuaries and business professionals.

The release said the decision was made after 24 years without a fee increase, with the attendant financial hardship to the campus. It said the committee recommended a 25 per cent fee increase.

It said at the April 20, 2023, campus Finance and General Purposes Committee (FGPC) after further representation from the guild of students, consensus was reached that the fee increase would be 20 per cent and this was the amount approved by the council.

The release said at the campus FGPC last semester, the guild stated its understanding and continued support for the 20 per cent tuition fee increase and made a specific request to mitigate the consequences of the fee increase for current students.

“...asking that the campus not place students on financial hold if students paid 80 per cent of their fees, thereby enabling them to register and allowing more time to pay the 20 per cent increase. The campus FGPC agreed unanimously to this request of the guild of students in the spirit of compromise.

“Notwithstanding the previous concessions, the campus has been presented with new information and there is an opportunity for temporary alternative arrangements to be made. Accordingly, it sought and obtained permission from the chancellor (on behalf of council) to execute a stay of council’s decision on the fee increase for the entire academic year 2025 – 2026. This means that all students will be exempt from paying the new tuition fee at this time.”

A notice of this deferral was sent to students on August 14. In response, the guild said, via a release on Instagram, that the notification had not been done in a timely manner.

“Since June, the guild has been in active discussions with campus administration, pressing for transparency and urging that the student body be officially informed of the decision.

“It was only after the guild council threatened further action in an e-mail sent on August 12 that the administration finally issued a formal communication to the campus. This failure in communication is deeply concerning and has only compounded the frustration of students.”

The guild said it would be holding a special general meeting on August 20, where students would be able to voice their concerns and perspectives on this matter. The guild said it remained committed to standing with and for the student body during this critical time.

Tertiary Education and Skills Training Minister Prof Prakash Persad said he was pleased that UWI had decided to defer the fee increase at this time.

"We had discussions with them and we appreciated the position they find themselves in. But things are tight, now is not the time to increase fees, as things are tight. We appreciate that they took that into consideration, the students and the state of the economy.

We have reached an understanding with UWI and they are co-operating. While we can't direct UWI, they have to work with us and we with them. We're working on building that sort of constructive partnership."

In 2022, the government cut UWI's funding by ten per cent. At the time finance minister Colm Imbert said Trinidad and Tobago spent approximately $500 million a year as a direct contribution and another $200 million for the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses Programme (GATE) funding.

In 2023, at the UWI's Meeting of University Council open session, vice-chancellor of the UWI Sir Hilary Beckles said he wanted the financial reliance model of the university to change, so there is less dependency on the public.

In February 2025, the West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT) accepted a six per cent increase in salary after years of negotiations.