Oran Hall | Bumpy ride from rural Jamaica to a university education

Recognising that education holds the key to a bright future, many parents make significant effort to give their children a fighting chance to get a meaningful education. They expect it to be the game changer for their children and themselves.

With the greatest of effort, though, some still find it excruciating because of their very limited means and access to funding.

St Clair Brown, as I have chosen to call him, is determined to forge a career in information technology management, come what may. The son of a fisherman and chicken farmer in rural western Jamaica, he has completed the first two years of a four-year course leading to a bachelor of science degree in computing at one of our universities in Kingston, which attracts an annual tuition fee of $450,000 to $500,000 – depending on the modules the student selects.

This is how he has done so far. He attended the Montego Bay Community College for two years, during which he completed the first year of the degree programme. He saw using the franchise course as the best way to manage the cost of the course as he was able to live at home, but the cost of food and transportation soon became too burdensome for his parents.

Nonetheless, he moved to university in Kingston, taking up residence in one of the low-budget communities near to it. He was able to keep down transportation costs by walking to classes and has been allowed by the owner of the place, where he has been living since relocating to Kingston, to pick in-season fruits, thereby reducing the cost of food.

He was able to survive the past academic year – the second year of the degree programme – with financial support from the following sources: his parents; grants from the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education, better known as PATH, and Hanover Charities, a non-profit organisation; his mentor; individuals who gave him small contributions; and his siblings, “who eke out something from what they have”.

He has not, however, enrolled for the first semester of the current academic year because he does not have the financial means. His parents are finding it hard and stressful. He has not yet had a response from PATH in regard to further assistance, and the money he worked over the summer holidays barely covered his living expenses and did not leave much to save towards his school expenses.

As he is not in school now, he has had his summer job extended, and is hunting for a permanent job, but is finding it difficult to find an entry-level job in IT as employers are asking for working experience. If he succeeds in securing a full-time job, St Clair is prepared to continue working full-time and to switch to studying part-time.

His preference is to resume his third year next semester. He hopes to get good news from PATH in response to his application as its yearly contribution of $100,000 would go a far way in helping to pay his tuition. He is hoping that the people who gave him financial support in the past will continue to do so. He is reluctant to apply to the Students Loan Bureau because he does not want to have debt hanging over his head when he completes his course. St Clair laments that he will not be able to participate in the Work and Travel Programme because he will not be able to meet the criterion of having 13 credits, due to the break he has taken this semester. In continuing his quest to secure funding, St Clair plans to check the university to see if there are bursaries and scholarships he may be eligible for.

Notwithstanding how he views debt, opting to borrow could prove helpful to him. It is true he would be saddled with the responsibility of re-paying it, but it would put him in a position to complete his course of study soon and enable him to start earning relatively good money. Additionally, he would have a chance to start building a credit history, which could prove helpful if he opts to buy big-ticket items like a house for the family he hopes to establish later.

Although St Clair is having a bumpy ride, he has not given up on his goal of being an accomplished IT professional. “That’s where my heart is,” he exclaims. That will lay the foundation for him to establish his own family and live comfortably, but it is proving difficult to accumulate the funds to realise that goal. For now, he says there is no space to do proper budgeting. “I do the best I can. Sometimes, it is hand-to- mouth. As it comes, it goes”. Nevertheless, there is one imperative: “I will complete this programme,” he said.

No matter how bumpy the road to a good education, it is the path to a better life.

Oran A. Hall, author of Understanding Investments and principal author of The Handbook of Personal Financial Planning, offers personal financial planning advice and counsel. finviser.jm@gmail.com