DSC tuition fees discontinued; students required to do community service

A view of the Dominica State College. File photo

Students attending the Dominica State College (DSC) no longer have to pay tuition fees. All outstanding fees owed by students of the College have also been cancelled

However, they will be required to perform mandatory voluntary community service.

Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Roosevelt Skerrit made the announcement after a site visit of the 1st phase of the new National Hospital Project on Monday.

He said these measures came into effect on Monday May 13, 2019.

 “I had the occasion to write to the President of the Dominica State College [Dr. Donald Peters]to advise him of the decision of the government to discontinue the payment of tuition fees by students attending the state college with effect from May 13th, 2019, and also to place a condition on students attending state college that they must engage themselves in a mandatory volunteerism at the community level as part of inculcating in the minds and the hearts of our students the need for them to play a greater role in community development,” he said.

Skerrit continued, “Seconding to also advise the President of the college that all outstanding fees owed as of May13th 2019 would have been canceled.”

This he said this ensure students continued access to the college.

He said with the help of the government of China, his government was able to build a modern campus with adequate facilities.

Furthermore, Skerrit stated that he has indicated to the College that there has to be an increased focus on some of the technical vocational programnes.

“We need more electricians in Dominica. We need more plumbers in Dominica. We need more masons in Dominica, more carpenters in Dominica, more people with more technical skills, but with certification,” he said, pointing out that there are a number of tradesmen and women in Dominica who have natural skills and others who have learnt skills but lack certification and are therefore, restricted to working in Dominica.

“With the skills certificate, the entire Caribbean would therefore become their market place and they will be able to take their knowledge and skills to different parts of the Caribbean,” Skerrit explained.

Meantime, he said his government is looking to open up the college to people who are employed who find it difficult to attend school during the normal working hours.

“We need to look at night programmes so that those of us who are working and want to learn and be exposed to additional skills and qualifications can go to night school and be able to access this education,” the prime minister said.

PM Skerrit talking to the media during the site visit

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41 Comments

  1. Jonathan Y St Jean
    May 16, 2019

    Skerritt’s mandatory volunteerism whatever that means is an idea borrowed from North Korea. How can Skerritt, a double doctorate dude, speak of something being mandatory and voluntary at the same time? Pure Tomfoolery

  2. Senojm
    May 15, 2019

    These are such reactionary responses to a progressive and enlightened policy. Instead of UWPites encouraging their leader to take advantage of this opportunity to earn an education for free, they’s griping and showing shade. The UWP leader cold be a useful citizen and a better leader if he took up this challenge.

  3. Jonathan Y St Jean
    May 15, 2019

    A strategic move by Skerritt would be to name the State College the Dame Eugenia Charles State College. The education trust fund was established under her leadership and she personally gave scholarships to poor people’s children. A great daughter of the land

  4. Didymus
    May 15, 2019

    !what a Character. labour supporters especially those who are there for the handouts dont give a ???? about removing Skerrit from office, because all they can see is their big toe, not further.Skerritt drunning dominica and these supporter keep following him to the precipice. black people so easily controlled. and what that making me feel so upset about Dominicans, there are so many well Educated men and woman in dominica who can sell skerrit over with qualifications and yet following him to the ditch.!defeat the man in the poles!!. “Is he in the pole booth with you all? Dominicans must understand that the money they following skerrit for comes with grave consequences it may take people to the GRAVE. stop being greedy, and selfish he is using money that should serve the whole country and sharing it for a few.Create JOBS for the people, let them work to earn let them plan their own budget, let them pay their own bill. let them manage their own affairs by the sweat of going to work.

  5. Katy
    May 14, 2019

    Hey you ‘all I lost my watch and don’t know the time. If no body responds I am going to ask Skerrit.. Doc doc what time is it? The time now is election time. ‘Are you blind and deaf or are you too stupid for your self’?

  6. little yout
    May 14, 2019

    So you want us to be like NEP workers now? we not in your nonsense. why you did not send your first son to work with them?

  7. Everything FREE
    May 14, 2019

    People, every blessed day things are getting worse and to cover up things expect Skerrit to make some strange announcements especially with what he saw in Penville last week Saturday. But it’s going to get worse for him because when he sees the real thing this coming Sunday, expect him to make a BIG announcement on Monday 20th day of May 2019. A little voice told me Skerrit going to ask Dominicans to find themselves in a bank or credit union on Monday May 20 2019 because he going payoff everybody’s loan and will deposit one Million dollars on the account of every voter. But remember you cannot go to the bank with promises

  8. Remember Venezuela
    May 14, 2019

    1. So nobody had paid yet man? If yes, is he going to compensate or reimburse those that had already paid?
    2. So how will the college be maintained? How will teachers and faculty get paid?
    3. So he said students will do mandatory voluntary work. But I am thinking why he did not do that same thing for those that got a FREE house as a condition for getting their title? AWA No title No land and No house. If they did not vote for him and he happens to win, trust me he will put you out.
    4. So he cannot give public officers a raise, he cannot raise the minimum rate but he can just go to bed and when he got up he just decide college is FREE?
    Boy Skerrit looks and sounds too nerv·ous. for my liking. To me he is very vulnerable and I afraid that people like his Bajan advisors and those passport agents don’t get him to sign some crazy deal

    • Watching
      May 15, 2019

      (# 2) how will college be maintained etc… Lennox said that’s what he intends if he won..so what. Just that skerrit run in front to do it . And so long de bu**er should do that…way to go Linton thanks anyway for the idea..I am now going to start my college life.

  9. Flat Tire
    May 14, 2019

    Thank God at least now less young women will be taken advantage of by people up there for college fees .less prey for panty man too

  10. Neville
    May 14, 2019

    Every day another election present. He uses state funds to buy votes.

  11. LifeandDeath
    May 14, 2019

    hahahha..This is the biggest sign of desperation Yet from Skerrit. He refused to add another dollar on the old ppl pension but all of a sudden is giving handouts en-masse to students of voting age.
    Leave aside the practicality of such a mammoth project of coordinating and reporting on the community service aspect of this proposal and just think for a bit, what has similar experiences in Barbados and Trinidad taught us?
    Islands like ours but with much higher GDPs had to cut back or abandon the idea of Free college education because it is not sustainable. At least Dominica should have done a feaibilty study before the decision was announced. Skerrit knows no bounds, he writes to the DSC president to inform of the discontinuance of Tuition fees!!..Isn’t there a board to consult with?..Everything is Political to this man..votes votes votes while the country lingers in the abyss of despair. This is an election ploy..vote them out, we will never know how bad if they stay. Dominicans…

  12. KID ON THE BLOCK
    May 14, 2019

    Lennox Linton should take advantage of that opportunity.

    • Ibo France
      May 15, 2019

      KID, you can’t apply for it’s too far above your level of intelligence. Kindergarten is more like it for folks like you. Listening to Linton is like music to the ears. The man is intellectually gifted, articulate and full of significant ideas. Nothing more I’ll like to witness than a debate between Linton and Skerrit strictly on national issues. Linton says that he’s willing and ready to go conversely Skerrit, the two times Doctor, is mortally afraid. KID, stop mouthing nonsense, encourage your deity to debate the leader of the main opposition, Lennox ‘Lionheart’ Linton, triple L.

  13. Jonathan Y St Jean
    May 14, 2019

    This is a pure desperation pronouncement by Skerritt. Whilst the intent is a noble one, it’s clear that it wasn’t well thought out, this was also not well articulated. Are there provisions made in the national budget for this? It sounded like a blow in the night to resuscitate a flat campaign. Then what about the secondary school students and their parents? If this was a well thought out plan then free education at all levels would have been the announcement.

    • Ibo France
      May 15, 2019

      I always respect your perspectives on national issues. Your points are very valid. I will repeat for the umpteenth time. Nothing Skerrit and the DLP does is with the people’s wellbeing in mind. It is solely calculated for votes. He and his party see people not as human beings but as votes. Why is he doing this and all the other rushed activities on the eve of a pending election? Couldn’t these be done just after the last election four years ago? No, general election was too far off. This regime is all about electioneering. Only when an election is constitutionally due the people get some form of pittance. Their time is up!

  14. Everything Free
    May 14, 2019

    UWP BIG Declaraion meeting is Sunday May 19, 2019. But people when we getup Monday May 20, tune in to DBS and kairie because Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, is going to make a HUGE announcement I believe. Skerrit is going to tell the entire nation that effective Monday May 20 2019, citizens should go to any Super Market of their choice, and take whatever they want because everything on island is for FREE

  15. Mannie
    May 14, 2019

    While this is great news!!! Was that decision voted in parliament? Did not realize these things could happen overnight. right in the middle of the school term?
    Oh well. Take advantage, my people.

    • RandyX
      May 15, 2019

      The dictator does need the cabinet anymore much less the parliament. The crime minister does as he pleases and he gets away with it.
      Things need to change in DA otherwise it goes to the dogs! I advise all Dominicans who are offered presents by Skerrit to take them and vote against him.

  16. weh
    May 14, 2019

    Bribes, Bribes, Bribes Why is this being done right before an election?

  17. Lin clown
    May 14, 2019

    Now Linton will go back to school and show he is smarter than,Viewsexpress,Ibo France,Massacre,La Plaine Observer.

  18. Matt Sam
    May 14, 2019

    Great. However many small businesses are still struggling since maria. Where is the grant assistance that was promised ?

    • Iamanidiot
      May 14, 2019

      No, no small business money, because if you have your own small business you wouldnt be depending on them and need hand out.

    • Neville
      May 15, 2019

      These grants went to some special people in the North who do not even have businesses. Sounds familiar? Nepotism rife in Dominica and the majority of people suffering.

  19. Rat Race
    May 14, 2019

    Anyone else ready for the election date? I’m ready vote them out ASAP.

  20. carlty
    May 14, 2019

    I actually like that idea. No amount of money can ever outweigh the values and principles that volunteering teaches you, the networks you create and the skills your build. I remember back in school, you had to have some hours of community work to graduate (not sure if it is still this way). I myself can attest to the lessons that I have learnt as a volunteer and the places just being a volunteer have brought me. My first job was given to me, not because of a degree but because of my work in the community. Sadly, we see less and less interest in volunteerism, not only in Dominica; it is a worldwide trend. I think this is why the world is so pregnant with issues. Persons are no longer willing to give up their time; time we now say is short and limited; to be advocates and a lot of the people who do these days are fame seeking. This is a good way of encouraging a volunteery spirit in our youth.

    • May 15, 2019

      Persons are no longer willing to give up their time @carlty

      And yet time is Love. So here we have it! There is no Love in and among the people of today; whether they receive with or without condition, there is always a negative response.

      No one knows how to say thank you, I appreciate that; etcetera, for the care that they are given ever so often; just look at the negative responses to the News Article; why should it be so?

      It is so because there is no manner of Love in the heart of the World today.

      And without Love there is no God; that truth is pasted all over–rich and poor; strong and famous; brilliant or illiterate; what a sorry World that we live in!

  21. May 14, 2019

    To revive skills we need to revive apprenticeships. However, this will be difficult because almost all of the master craftsmen able to transmit those skills are now in the next world. It has been my privilege to work alongside many of them.

    Skills are not learnt in the classroom, but at the workbench and the hand to eye, to brain, coordination has to be practiced from an early age. Hence, skills tended to run in families, passed down from father to son.

    Interestingly, many of today’s master craftsmen turned to their craft after being disenchanted with the world of academia. But to do so they have had to re-invent the wheel, for so much has been taken to the grave.

  22. Iamanidiot
    May 14, 2019

    More freeness, free house, free this, free that. Nothing is ever free, it just means you not the one paying for it. So who pays for it? the state , who is the state?You…your taxes lol. Remember Dominica isn’t bringing in that much money, go to the store, we importing mango juice from Barbados and Plaintain Chips from St Lucia. Go to St Lucia, what product from Dominica you can find on the shelf? maybe only blue soap, I don’t even see pepper anymore.
    For so many people that did economics in UWI, it seems they just turned to a bunch of “Yes men” when the PM suggest something.
    The only thing we have making real money is passports, ebeh…I agree that CBI money well well long.

    But when they finish with school where do they work? only place to work is Government and couple banks. Where the firms, private sectors, and IT offices to EARN money and put in your pocket without having to get a hand out or a freeness?None? ok

    That’s a bid for all the college votes, very good…

  23. Someshalleatall
    May 14, 2019

    Where/who is the minister for education? Why is Skerrit (the one man government ) so lazy and tired and talking pawol enitille? Time up pack up Skerrit.

  24. LaPlaine Observer
    May 14, 2019

    The timing of this quid pro quo announcement by Skeritt is very suspect given that elections is nearing. Every one should take this with great skepticism and question the ulterior motive behind this move. This has all the hallmarks of a desperate man who will exhaust every avenue to win at any cost. Let me remind those who are intrigued by this announcement, remember who proposed this first.

  25. John crow
    May 14, 2019

    A drowning man will grab on to floating straws :wink:

  26. Perfect Idiot
    May 14, 2019

    “However, they will be required to perform mandatory voluntary community service.”
    I am the well known perfect Idiot and as such I need someone to help me understand this here. The last time I checked “Mandatory” and “Voluntary” were two words completely opposite each other. For example, mandatory means you must do what it or else you will pay the consequence. Voluntary means you don’t have to do any damn thing. You only do it if you choose to do it. But was Skerrit a School teacher before Skerrit got into politics? I guess the wave that sweeping Dominica, especially what he saw in Penville last Saturday really has him tebe and he can’t think. He trying all kinds of tricks to see how he can fool some but not even Ian Douglas he fooling now. What a national disgrace!

    • Sjin
      May 14, 2019

      Voluntary can also be defined as, working without pay. In that case “Mandatory voluntary…” can actually work.

  27. alas
    May 14, 2019

    mandatory volunteerism???? are these words suppose to be used together.

  28. Ibo France
    May 14, 2019

    Good for the students and their parents. More goodies to come. Grab them with both hands. Everything this man does is ultra-carefully planned for political expediency. Why weren’t these things done long before this pending general election? What is happening to the economy? What people really want is gainful employment with livable wages. This will give them economic independence so they can fend for themselves and would not have to resort to mendicancy at the notorious Red Clinic. There is an all out effort by this unconscionable, wicked and utterly corrupt incumbent administration to curry favor with the electorate. Once the elections are over it’s back to square one where hunger, malnutrition, beggary, extreme unemployment, growing vagrancy, mounting criminal activity, victimization, corruption by prominent public figures, boldfaced lying, underdevelopment, delinquency of duty in public office, crumbling infrastructure continues and this is only a tip of the iceberg. VOTE THEM…

  29. Bill
    May 14, 2019

    Very good news for Dominican students and prospective Dominican students attending the Dominica State College coming from the Prime Minister, Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit. Interestingly it did not come at the start of the 2018 – 2019 academic year but at the start of the 2019 – 2020 general election campaign.

    However if my memory serves me right, i recollect that sometime in 2018 or thereabout the Honourable Lennox Linton promised that a United Workers Party (UWP) Team Dominica government would pay the tuition fees for all Domnican students attending the Dominica State College (DSC).

    The visionary behind college free tuition for Dominican nationals attending the DSC is Honourable Lennox Linton and not Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit. In my humble opinion Honourable Skerrit is only carrying out a promise pronounced by Honourable Linton :wink:

  30. Mmmmmmmmm
    May 14, 2019

    You will bring milk out of stones soon cause u realized your back is against the wall. Too late PM. We voting UWP

  31. %
    May 14, 2019

    The heat is on, and Skerrit is feeling it!
    Skerrit can buy
    Skerrit can sell
    Skerrit can Spend $$$$$
    But Skerrit cannot win Linton!!!
    Skerrit Must Go
    Skerrit Must Go
    LAZY Skerrit Must Go y

  32. Gnatel
    May 14, 2019

    Thanks Mr. PM. We are waiting for the following “BIG” announcements:
    1. Increase in the monthly allowance for senior citizens to $500
    2. Increase the minimum wage by at least 50%
    3. Offer a monthly allowance to all former Prime Ministers

    Thanks Mr. PM. Opps! Sorry. Thanks Mr. Linton.

  33. Real
    May 14, 2019

    Hey is it voluntary community service or mandatory voluntary community service? I’m not sure if these are the same but this is 2019 and with so many changes happening maybe voluntary = mandatory. idk…

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