Joseph Cunningham, Gleaner Writer

Ten days before the deadline for full payment of tuition fees, half of the school population at the University of Technology (UTech) is unregistered, according to Carl Wilkenson, president of the Students' Union.

With a capacity of 8,000 students, Mr. Wilkenson said a little over 4,000 have not completed payments.

"The situation is that students are finding it very difficult to meet the huge increases in tuition fees," Mr. Wilkenson said.

Challenges

He added that students have always had challenges at the start of a new school year, but this time around, it was "most depressing."

Approaching the start of the 2006-2007 academic year, the UTech administration announced increases in fees of up to 15 per cent for returning students and 20 per cent for new students.

Dr. Rae Davis, UTech president, told The Gleaner that the institution increases fees every year but has been able to keep such increases to single digits for the last three years.

However, Dr. Davis pointed out that the increased cost of running the university had resulted in the dramatic hike.

Stefan (last name withheld), an electrical engineering student, said the degree programme he is pursuing had been increased from $150,000 to $238,000. He argued that while there is a late payment plan for students, this was not accessible to all.

"Students are placed on that plan based on their ability to complete the payment in full by an indicated date," he explained.