The Cabinet of Ministers decided that all nursing students at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College, DNE, will have to sign a bond in order to get funding and a monthly stipend. This is highly unfair because it was never a requirement since the BScN program started in 2018; neither was it placed in writing nor were students required to sign anything that required them to repay the government.
Contractually, it is also unfair to force students to sign a bond, which is basically a contract, when they are already in their 4th, 3rd, or 2nd year of the program with no information regarding the contents of the bond, only that they will be bonded for 5 years. When asked what would happen if we didn’t sign the bond, it was mentioned that we may have to leave the program.
Aren’t you supposed to be made aware of the terms and conditions prior to applying to the program or even signing a bond? It would be more appropriate to implement the conditions of the bond during the application process of the program so that individuals can make appropriate plans moving forward and not blindside people’s kids.
For years, the government has issued a stipend of $1000, which accumulates to $955 after NIS deduction, to its students without requiring repayment or threatening that if you don’t sign a bond, you forfeit your stipend and possibly the program.
The BScN degree is not free, and students are responsible for paying the majority of the tuition. Many students do not have the resources outside of the stipend to fund the program or use the stipend to acquire loans at various credit unions. Additionally, the process of informing the student was grossly unprofessional; there were no provisions for an information session to inform students of the terms and conditions of the bond or answer questions or concerns that students may have.
The only form of communication was a letter that was issued to the students in November stating that there were two sureties and that the bond must be signed by December 31st to avoid having to forfeit the stipend and possibly the program. The idea of bonding someone or nurses to a country does not solve the issues of the health care system. The issues remain even if you have more nurses on staff.
Student Nurse
