By Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterMORE THAN 40 Jamaican nationals who gained the Bachelor of Law Degree (LL.B.) by external examination from the University of London and Wolverhampton University are challenging a decision by the Council of Legal Education of the Norman Manley Law School, which requires them to pay nearly $1 million annually for admission to that institution.
The Norman Manley Law School provides the course of study leading to the licensing of attorneys-at-law in Jamaica and other Caribbean territories.
The British-trained law graduates were informed in May this year that because of the reduced budgetary allocation by the Government of Jamaica to the law school, Jamaican nationals who gained their law degrees abroad would no longer be able to enjoy the subsidy in respect of their tuition fees starting this year. This category of students are required to pay the full economic cost of $890,000 per annum.
DISCRIMINATION
Some of the applicants said they found the decision discriminatory and, consequently, wrote to Minister of Justice and Attorney-General A.J. Nicholson this week asking him to intervene in the matter.
They told The Gleaner that it was unfair for them to bear the full cost of the tuition fees because it was a lack of funds in the first place why some of them had to gain their degrees by private tuition. Noting that they would have to spend two years to get the certificate in legal education in order to practise as lawyers, the law graduates said it was not possible that they would get loans from the Students' Loan Bureau to cover the two-year cost of $1.6 million.
This contrasts to the annual tuition fee of $175,000 paid by graduates of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados campus.
REDUCED BUDGET
The letter that was sent to the applicants in May informed them that the Government of Jamaica had provided a reduced budget allocation to the Norman Manley Law School. As a consequence, a decision had been taken that Jamaican nationals who were successful at the Admissions Board Entrance Examination from 2004 would no longer be able to enjoy the subsidy in respect of their tuition fees.
The letter stated that "previously, the Government of Jamaica provided a subsidy in excess of 80 per cent of the economic cost to all its nationals who qualified for entry to the law school. This position can no longer be sustained and Jamaican nationals who are awarded places from 2004 via the annual entrance examinations will be required to pay the full economic cost of $890,017."
They were told in the letter that in the context of the increase in fees, a decision was taken to offer to all registered Jamaican applicants for the 2004 entrance examination the option of being refunded the examination fee of US$150. The entrance examination is to be held next month.
This latest action by the Norman Manley Law School follows similar steps taken by the medical faculty at UWI to charge the full economic cost of tuition to students outside of the region and the yearly quota for admission measures implemented to make up for budgetary shortfall from the Jamaican Government.
