Lenice Barnett, ContributorIf thou wilt lend this money, lend it not as to thy friends; for when did friendship take a breed for barren metal of his friend?
Antonio to Shylock
in Shakespeare's The
Merchant of Venice 1.3.133.
EVERY YEAR, teeming thousands of tertiary-bound students throng the New Kingston offices of the Students' Loan Bureau (SLB) for the benefit of accessing the most affordable and best option available to finance a Jamaican university or college education. One that is already heavily subsidised by the government coffers!
A significant number of the more than 7,000 persons who apply each year, wait until the 11th hour to submit their applications in defiance of an application period that extends from mid-January to April 30 each year. It has become a huge occasion for a recalcitrant core of procrastinators, many of whom, relish the "adrenaline rush" of the last minute crush!
Deadline week at the SLB has become an event on the tertiary student calendar. New and mainly returning applicants descend in droves. They come as individuals, as couples, as bands and groups, bent on defiance and having a rollicking time!
On the other hand, the 51-strong staff of the Bureau braces for the press and fury of the annual ritual of hundreds of hot, bothered bodies cramped in a space that usually accommodates just about 75.
The late evening protestations and the early morning vigils, the calls to the radio talk shows from conspicuous cell phones, and the inevitable showing of the press, all make for good drama.
Add to the picture, that supportive family member, friend or the 'significant other', who appears to provide solace, comfort and moral support in this 'difficult passage' in the life of the SLB deadliner. These supporters bring the canisters of food, the drink, the pillows and blankets, and the Zion Roots!
Oh, what high drama that beckons the creative minds and pens of our foremost playwrights on deadline week at the SLB.
The SLB wishes to draw attention to this growing phenomenon of irresponsibility among students who aspire to higher education, and to join the privileged ranks of the nation's professional class.
IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
That so many of these students display crass indiscipline and disregard for established rules and guidelines portends to a bleak scenario for the next generation of professionals and leaders.
The statistical comparisons between the 2003 and the just concluded January-April 2004 application periods point to the consistency in the intransigent behaviour of SLB loan applicants overall to our repeated requests at their schools and in the public media for them to apply early.
The figures make for a compelling argument of the need to demand a higher level of accountability from all concerned, especially the SLB 'deadliners', many of whom are repeat offenders. (See Table 1)
A closer examination of the response of the students as the deadline nears, presents a clearer picture of the intent of the most chronic of SLB deadliners, who prefer to wait until the last two to three days to turn up at the Bureau's office. They present a gross misrepresentation of the SLB as being inefficient and uncaring.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Within the limitations of a tight budget, the SLB adds new improvements to its operations every year to ensure expeditious customer service delivery to new and returning students.
The four-month application period, on the basis of a 200-persons-a-day-policy, is more than adequate. Notwithstanding any anticipated surge in applications as the traditional April 30 deadline approaches, this system could easily serve all our clients, even at a rate of 50 persons a day.
NO EXCUSES
The fact of the matter is that the SLB is equipped to handle over 14,000 applications during the four-month processing period, twice the number of anticipated applications each year.
What is clear is that the students have no excuse for not knowing the deadline, as evidenced by the hundreds who turn up on the last two days of the loan application period.
Even when we abandon our 200-a-day policy to receive approximately 392 loan applications on April 29, and 414 on the April 30 deadline itself, it is just not enough time to serve approximately 2000 applicants during the last week of the period.
The figures point to students at the University of the West Indies, Mona, accounting for 43 per cent of the number of last minute applications over the last three days of the application period, an understandable fact, given that the UWI commands the lion's share of the student loan financing pie. (See Table 2)
However, it was quite alarming to see the noticeable surge in last-minute applicants from the University of Technology (UTech), mainly among business administration students, as well as our would-be teachers from the teachers colleges, and uncharacteristically, students of the Northern Caribbean University.
Beyond the statistics and drama, the SLB 'deadliner' phenomenon is a bellwether of our times.
It presents a formidable dilemma not just to the SLB, but also to all stakeholders in the education system. It gives us pause to reflect on our individual and corporate roles as parents, educators, financiers, citizens and students.
The SLB 'deadliner' phenomenon holds up a mirror to our collective consciousness and portrays an image that offends our sense and sensibilities and casts us in a light that represents the worst of ourselves.
As to the Bureau's own position on the matter, we feel 'enough is enough!'
The time has come to draw a line in the sand and to put paid to the last-minute rush and boorish behaviour of students who are purported to represent our brightest and best.
Lenice Barnett is a professional banker and manager, who has been the executive director of the Students' Loan Bureau for the past 10-years.
