By Admin. Updated 4:12 p.m., Wednesday, September 2, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Students at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC) will continue to pay certain programme-related costs even though the Government has abolished administration and registration fees, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education Lavern King has said, as she sought to clear up public confusion over the scope of the administration’s education reforms.
King addressed the issue during an appearance on Hot97.1 FM on Wednesday after questions were raised by incoming and continuing SVGCC students who received invoices ahead of the new academic year despite the Government’s pledge to reduce the financial burden of education.
The debate follows commitments made by the New Democratic Party (NDP) before taking office.
During the 2025 general election campaign, then Opposition Leader Dr Godwin Friday pledged to abolish CXC and CAPE examination fees, remove admission and administrative charges at the Community College, and make education more affordable for Vincentian families. After the party formed the Government, Prime Minister Friday announced that admission fees at SVGCC would be abolished as part of efforts to improve access to tertiary education and remove unnecessary financial barriers.
King said the current controversy has arisen because separate policy commitments are being treated as though they are one and the same.
“I think there’s a conflating of those policy positions and several things are actually happening,” she said.
According to the minister, the Government’s promise of “no fees” relates specifically to CXC and CAPE examination fees.
She explained that students writing CXC examinations this year will no longer have to pay examination fees, with the Government covering the cost of up to nine subjects. The same policy applies to students sitting CAPE examinations.
“When you write your CXC… you will not have to pay those fees at all,” King said. “Similarly, when you’re doing CAPE… you’ll pay no fees on those.”
King stressed that this commitment is separate from another government policy that removed administration and registration fees at SVGCC.
She said those charges have already been eliminated, resulting in substantial reductions in the overall cost of attending the institution.
However, while King said registration fees had been waived, questions remain over an EC$20 payment that incoming students were required to make before their applications could be processed for admission to SVGCC.
The payment was described as a fee associated with some applicants and their parents, raising questions about whether it falls under the category of charges the Government says have been removed. King did not address that specific EC$20 payment during her interview but maintained that administration and registration fees associated with attending the institution had been eliminated.
As one example, King said Business Accounting students in the Division of Technical and Vocational Education (DTVE) who paid EC$1,190 last year are now paying EC$605, representing a reduction of almost 50 per cent.
She added that, depending on the programme, some students have seen reductions of up to 49 per cent, while others have benefited from fee reductions of about 32 per cent.
However, King maintained that the Government never promised to cover every cost associated with attending the Community College.
Instead, she said students remain responsible for programme-specific expenses, particularly where courses require specialised materials, laboratory facilities or consumable supplies.
Using Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology as an example, King said students continue to contribute towards the cost of refrigerant gas and other materials used during practical training.
“Those are the fees that the students are incurring because you have a little skin in the game in your education as well,” she said.
When asked whether the cost of those materials had increased this year, King said she was unaware of any increase but declined to speculate.
“I don’t want to be disingenuous. I suppose those are things that we could ask and get further clarity on. But as it relates to the administration fees, I’m giving you the facts,” she said.
King argued that the Government has honoured its education commitments by abolishing CXC and CAPE examination fees, removing administration and registration fees at SVGCC, eliminating Community College admission fees, and reducing other education-related costs borne by students and parents.
She also criticised what she described as attempts to misrepresent the Government’s reforms, saying some commentary had merged separate policy initiatives into a single issue.
“There are different policy positions and I think people are completely conflating two different things,” she said.
The clarification comes amid continued public discussion after some SVGCC students questioned why they had received invoices ahead of the new academic year. While King maintained that examination, admission, administration and registration fees had been removed, questions remain about other charges paid by students, including the EC$20 application processing payment required from incoming students before their applications could be processed.
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