From left: Department Education Head Sidonia Lacorbiniere-Hodge; President of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams; Minister ECYS Melissa D. Gumbs and Policy Advisor in Cabinet, Erin Ellis.
PHILIPSBURG--Parliament on Thursday unanimously passed the National Ordinance containing Rules on Higher Education and Research. The National Ordinance will now continue in the legislative trajectory towards ratification and implementation.
“This law has been some time coming,” Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS) Melissa Gumbs said in her closing remarks to Parliament. “In fact, it is a law that should have been established before the existence of even USM [University of St Martin – Ed.] and AUC [American University of the Caribbean], because to handle such things after the establishment of an institution, private or public, is putting the cart before the horse. However, in reflecting on the past, we can identify the way forward and that is what the Ministry is now aiming to do.”
The law had a long journey to Thursday’s historic passing, with extensive consultations taking place between the Ministry of ECYS and stakeholders such as the American University of the Caribbean and the University of St. Martin. Its handling beginning in Central Committee in 2023 and went through several rounds of discussion with former Minister Samuel. Public handling of the law began in September 2024, restarting in March 2025 due to the changed composition of Parliament and concluding on Thursday.
Minister Gumbs outlined the law’s provisions for the funding of higher education, standards for the quality of education, financial reporting expectations and rules, as well as the pending Accreditation Framework, which will ensure good governance, transparency and an adherence to international standards of accreditation.
“The Accreditation Framework will provide safety for both institutions and students,” Gumbs states. “For institutions, it provides them the guidance to ensure that they maintain accreditation status, which secures funding and their overall reputation. For students, it mitigates any risk to their degrees and diplomas losing value, as well as ensures that they have academic and professional mobility regionally and internationally. Once this framework is finalized, its components will be shared with the public so that all are aware of what is expected moving forward.”
With regard to the funding of higher education, provisions were made for the fixed costs of institutions to be accounted for, and that variable costs are taken into consideration as well, along with the number of students enrolled. A third component, contract funding, is also included, which allows for growth based on innovative activities, institutional goals and national priorities. Contract Funding additionally enables Private/Public Partnerships to be enacted, a point that Minister Gumbs stressed on in her remarks.
“It’s my intention to continue to ensure that institutions can become self-sustainable,” Gumbs said, “as it is my general experience during my time in the United States that those entities that do not incorporate alternative avenues of funding and development into their business model do not survive the harsh landscape of education, and I do not want to see any locally based institution, state-owned or otherwise, suffer such a fate.”
Minister Gumbs informed Parliament that she would communicate when the Accreditation Framework is finalized and expressed her gratitude for their participation once again.
Gumbs expressed her satisfaction and gratitude to the Department of Education, her Cabinet, her Ministry colleagues, stakeholders and the members of Parliament after the unanimous acceptance of the law.
