Dozens of UWI students scrambling for exam clearance amid financial strain

Dozens of struggling University of the West Indies (UWI) students are racing against time to secure clearance to sit end-of-semester examinations as mounting financial pressures threaten to derail their academic progress.

The situation is “alarming”, according to Guild President Roshaun Wynter, who said he has been inundated with calls from anxious students in the lead-up to the exams, which began yesterday.

Financial clearance is tied to the payment of tuition, hall and miscellaneous fees, and for some students, the process is proving to be a last-minute hurdle.

Some have launched GoFundMe appeals for help. But for others – particularly those with exams this week – time may already be working against them, as clearance updates, whether manual or electronic, can take hours to reflect on the system, Wynter explained.

As of yesterday afternoon, 92 per cent of students scheduled to sit exams had been cleared, he said, citing discussions with the university.

“It’s really bad. We are still in the academic year where we were hit by a major natural disaster, and that has exacerbated the normal challenges,” Wynter said. “Our fees are very expensive, especially hall fees, and all of that has compounded the situation.”

He noted that despite multiple support measures, including grants and bursaries, many students remain in difficulty.

In the first semester, the university granted full exam clearance regardless of financial standing, and introduced a solidarity programme offering up to a 50 per cent discount on outstanding balances for eligible hurricane-affected students.

“But the university now has a challenge,” Wynter said. “It is trying to strike a delicate balance between recovering funds and ensuring that no student is left behind.”

Students facing financial hardship are now being asked to make their case directly to the Student Administrative Services Section (SASS).

LOANS NOT ENOUGH

Wynter said the Guild, along with its partners, has distributed grants to female students, hurricane victims, and others in need, but admitted that earlier interventions – including a $30,000 scholarship – often fell short of meeting the students’ full needs.

“The focus now is on those we can actually get across the finish line,” he said.

First-year student Akeina Green is among those under pressure. His home in Hanover was severely damaged during the storm, and despite scholarships and a loan from the Students’ Loan Bureau, he still needs to find $267,000 by Wednesday to sit his first exam on Thursday. This includes approximately $107,000 in hall fees for the current and previous semesters.

Yesterday, he waited anxiously on a promised transfer of funds from his mother.

“Some of the funds for last semester were diverted to rebuilding my house, because I lost my roof. I couldn’t even focus or study properly,” he said.

“I need to clear these fees before Thursday. If I don’t, I don’t know how I’m going to sort that out.”

Green, who is pursuing a double major in electronics and alternative energy systems, said he remains hopeful as he prepares for his first exam at 4 p.m.

At least two law students have launched GoFundMe campaigns, seeking US$850 and US$1,000 respectively, with both reporting partial progress as exams get under way.

A third-year medical student, who asked not to be named, said she must come up with $64,100 in tuition fees before she will be eligible to sit her exams on Thursday. Unlike Green, however, she remains calm, expressing faith that “God will come through”.

“There is [more] money that I have to pay, but to be cleared so I can sit the exam, I have to pay that,” she said. “Surprisingly, I am very calm. I’m studying the same way because things can change. So I’m not worried.”

In the meantime, Wynter is urging all students with outstanding fees to visit SASS, as agreed in discussions with the university, as soon as possible to set up payment arrangements.

While many have followed that directive, he acknowledged that those with exams just days away “may find it really challenging at this point”.

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com