| Foundation seeks scholarships funds | | Print | |
| Thursday, 11 November 2010 09:15 | |||
 Kicking off its launch Nov. 12 with a fundraising event at the Veranda Resort, the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College Foundation is looking for support to get education in the TCI back on track. The education budget has been significantly reduced due to budget cuts in the past 18 months. Down to $8.5 million from $15 million, scholarships have been one of the first areas to feel the squeeze. As a result, a number of students are being deprived of an education at the local community college, said Dr. Carlton Mills, chairman of the TCICCF. According to Mills, student numbers at the two campuses have gone down by 40 percent, from in excess of 500 students to the now approximately 300 students attending the college. “It is this gap we are hoping to bridge,” he said. The TCICCF was established by an energetic group of individuals with hopes to raise scholarship funds for up to 25 students per year who cannot otherwise pay for their education, without which they are left jobless and in many cases, hopeless. The group plans to raise money for scholarships to qualifying students through fundraisers, such as Friday’s event at the Veranda, and soliciting support from local companies who will benefit from the results. “It is imperative to keep the college going through private scholarships,” he said. “It provides the opportunity for residents to get easy access to higher education at a reasonable cost.” Tuition and books for a student for one year costs $2,500. Mills says he hopes companies will consider sponsoring a student towards a two-year Associates Degree, which costs them a total of $5,000. The company can then ask for a minimum work commitment from the individual, which guarantees them a qualified local worker. Mills says one important goal of the college is to “reduce our reliance or dependence on the outside world in relation to assistance with skilled personal. It is in the indigenous Turks and Caicos Islander who understands the culture and the country and is placed in a better position to relate to others in the workplace.” Supporting the community college through student scholarships will help to keep this important institution alive. Mills says having a quality community college in the country is an important instrument of success or achievement for the country. “It offers us a greater sense of identity and appreciation for who we are,” he said. The college, which has all its Associate Degrees accredited by the University of the West Indies, has received accolades for the students it has produced so far. Several institutions, both in the U.K. and the U.S., have given students coming out the school advanced placement. However, the college needs more support from the community in order to keep fulfilling its mission of critical importance for the future of the country. “We need a high quality educational institution for the TCI because the country is changing rapidly. We need capable people with skills and expertise to be able to properly facilitate and prepare for this change so we will have better governance in the future,” Mills said. The community college also has plans in the works to expand its operations. Talks which started in 2008 are back on track with the Caribbean Development Bank to provide a loan to build a new campus on Providenciales. Land has already been designated by the government, and Mills says the CDB is looking favourably on the loan. They hope to have more news after the issue is discussed at the next CDB board meeting coming up in December. Plans for the new campus include a technology wing as well as a hospitality wing and dorms to accommodate students from other islands and other countries. Mills notes many students, particularly in the Caicos islands, are not able to attend the college due to a lack of facilities and accommodations at the current campuses. This new campus would offer the world-class hospitality training facilities desperately needed to fulfill the growing needs of the local tourism industry. It would help the resident community get trained to fill the jobs available in the country. There are also plans afoot to expand the Grand Turk campus, adding a full-fledged teacher education program, another area in much demand in local education system.
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