The Editor, Sir:

I read with awe in The Gleaner of April 19, where Jamaican students accrue interest rate from the Students' Loan Bureau at a rate of up to 16 per cent, while students in Barbados pay five per cent and Trinidad and Tobago 4.5 per cent. I have to think out aloud, what is the justification for this disparity? Are the people of Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados more deserving of a chance at tertiary education than the Jamaican populace?

Large profit

Isn't it ludicrous that an ambitious student gets a loan for a half a million dollars over a four-year period and upon completion of study is looking at more than a million dollars before earning a dollar? Isn't it high time that the Students' Loan Bureau review its rate of interest and have the Jamaican student at heart and not the large profit?

We complain about crime and violence in our society and sometimes we do not stop to think that uneducated and undereducated citizenry could be a contributing factor. Just think about a student who matriculates from college, cannot afford the fees and wish to turn to the very bureaucratic Students' Loan Bureau for a loan.

Rocket scientist

Isn't this a deterrent to poor students who sometimes see the bureau as the only alternative to finance an education? Aren't the less or undereducated people the ones doing most of the criminal acts across the country? It does not take a rocket scientist to see that a rate of 16 per cent is unfair to Jamaican students to pay to get a good quality education.

If we are serious about changing the economic and security landscape of the country, we need to look first at the most critical resource of a country - the people.

I am, etc.,

Morris McCarthy

morrismccarthy005@yahoo.com

Virginia, USA