CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – The St. Lucia government announced on Friday that it is expanding the First-Generation Scholarship Programme at the US-based Monroe College, which was established in 1933 as a for-profit private higher education institution.
The College has a campus here, and the government has announced an increase from 50 to 75 full awards for the 2025/26 academic year under the programme introduced in 2023, as the flagship of Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre’s “One University Graduate per Household” initiative.
A government statement said that the initiative targets students from households without a university graduate, and that during the 2024/25 national budget, Prime Minister Pierre noted the “fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge.
“The Government’s policy of at least one university graduate per household continues with partnerships and with government funding.”
The statement said that the First-Generation Full Scholarships are being made possible through a collaboration between the government and Monroe College, with both parties sharing the cost of delivery.
“This expansion complements broader measures to improve tertiary access, including a new Education Financing Facility at the St. Lucia Development Bank (SLDB), supported by a US$3.7 million loan from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The government will guarantee these loans to ensure qualified students are not turned away,” the statement said.
It noted that in the 2025/26 academic year, St. Lucian students have been awarded scholarships from Taiwan, Cuba, and other countries.
“Over the past four years, the government has invested more than nine million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) in tertiary bursaries and scholarships, directly benefiting over 1,200 students,” the statement said.
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