KINGSTON, Jamaica — A first-year medical student whose studies were put on hold after she was unable to pay her tuition fees is appealing for public support to help her return to the classroom and continue pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. At 19 years old, Tavonya Lounds had already mapped out her future. For as long as she can remember, becoming a doctor was the dream.
It was the goal she repeated during school guidance sessions, the ambition she shared with family, and the path she worked toward through years of studying. But months after entering medical school, that dream was placed on hold not because of academic failure, but because of a financial barrier she could not overcome. “I didn’t finish semester one and if you have an outstanding balance at the university, you’re not able to start a new semester,” Lounds said.
Lounds, a first-year Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) student at the University of West Indies, Mona, from Hampton Court, St Thomas, is now seeking assistance to clear her outstanding tuition balance and return to her studies. She has launched a fund-raising campaign, hoping to raise enough support to continue her education. The annual cost of tuition for a full-fee paying medical student is approximately $4.5 million, she said.
The Student Loan Bureau (SLB) provided her with $1 million, which covered only part of her first semester’s fees, leaving a significant balance unpaid. She said the financial strain became more difficult after her family’s circumstances changed. Her mother, who is employed overseas, had already been supporting another child pursuing studies abroad and was uncertain how much additional assistance she could provide.
That left Lounds hoping her father would contribute toward her education. “Essentially, the responsibility was on my father to pick up the slack. Because there are lots of people who don’t pay the full fee before the year is actually finished...
The university does understand to a point if you are showing initiative,” she explained. However, Lounds said she felt abandoned when the financial support she expected did not materialise. “I don’t think he cared enough,” she said, before adding that she did not want to assume his intentions.
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