St. Maart: Fighting the brain drain

-Students who return to the island after completing their studies to take up certain key positions within government will be offered a new incentive package, Education Commissioner Sarah Wescott-Williams told reporters Wednesday.

The incentive package which will include a reduction in their study financing loans and special allowances, will be for study financing recipients who take up "critical" openings in government that are considered difficult to fill.

Students taking up the positions will have their study financing debt slashed based on the length of time they remain in the positions. Some 40 per cent of the study financing granted to students is considered a grant while the remaining 60 per cent is treated as a repayable loan. If a student returns to fill a key position in government the loan amount will be reduced, Wescott-Williams told reporters during the weekly Executive Press Briefing yesterday.