Financing for equity in higher education

1. Education resources to subnational governments

Introduction

Key financing indicators (UIS Data)

There is no recent data regarding the gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education for both sexes, nor the initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita. The initial household funding per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita is also not available.

Tuition-free status

National laws and policies do not guarantee tuition-free public tertiary education.

Governance

Under the Finance Administration Act of 2006, the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance establishes the fiscal structure for allocating and executing tertiary education budgets and oversees the national budget preparation process. Under the Education Act of 2008, the Ministry of Education, Sport & Creative Industries can establish and maintain higher education institutions and manage fee payments.

1. Education resources to subnational governments

No funding mechanisms for transferring resources from the central government to local governments for public higher education have been identified.

2. Education resources to institutions

Funding for private universities in the absence of public institutions

No funding for private universities has been identified when no public university is available.

Allocation and equity

Funds flow from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Education, which distributes grants to public colleges, technical institutes, and the Board of Education. The Board oversees the Education Levy fund (a mandatory payroll levy) and uses it to provide tertiary bursaries and scholarships.

For the public regional University of the West Indies, the Office of Finance annually issues Budget Guidelines to the Campuses and University Centre Departments for preparing the Biennial Estimates and coordinates their submission to the Technical Advisory Committees (TACs) and Grants Committees. Both committees include representatives from the Ministries of the contributing countries responsible for tertiary education and finance. The budget for the Five Islands Campus is funded solely by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.

3. Education resources to students

Admission for vulnerable groups

The 2008 Education Act prohibits discrimination in school admissions on grounds of race, place of origin, political opinion, colour, creed, gender, or physical or mental disability. The Disabilities and Equal Opportunities Act, 2017, further mandates non-discrimination and reasonable accommodations in educational access for persons with disabilities. However, no specific admission criteria for vulnerable groups exist at a national level.

Scholarships, grants and loans for vulnerable groups

The Board of Education administers the principal government scholarship programme through revenues generated by the Education Levy. Criteria for new scholarships will include National Needs Priority Areas (education subjects), Performance, and Merit (including special circumstances).

The Higher Education (Loans to Private Students) Act, enacted in 1974 and reconstituted in 2008, establishes the Higher Education Loan Fund and delegates administration to the Antigua and Barbuda Development Bank. Loans are available to all students enrolled or accepted in a full-time program approved by the Student Loan Advisory Committee at an accredited institution. Special consideration is given to applicants who are the children of single parents, belong to families with inadequate earning capacity, come from large families (at least two adults and three children under 18), have parents without assets (especially land or savings) who do not qualify for credit, or have disabled or indigent parents.