The Minister of Finance and Planning has openly suggested that the time has come to consider transferring resources from subsidies for higher education to financing Early Childhood, Primary and High School education.

I am firmly opposed to the notion that for more resources to be found for education at the early stages, it must automatically mean cuts in subsidies for higher education.

I will argue that not only must the necessary resources be found to address the problems at the Early Childhood, Primary and High School levels, but more resources also need to be channeled into tertiary and higher education.

I will compare Jamaica’s subsidy for higher education with that of other Caribbean countries. This comparison will show that Jamaica is way behind its Caribbean neighbours with respect to its support of tertiary and higher education.