Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced that university education in Antigua and Barbuda will be free of charge beginning this September, calling the move a transformative step toward ensuring every citizen has the opportunity to earn a degree.
According to Antigua.news, the announcement came during a radio appearance and appeared to catch even members of Browne's own team off guard. The Prime Minister revealed that the decision was confirmed on the spot following a brief exchange with the Finance Secretary. "I just asked the Finance Secretary if she feels that we can start from September," Browne said. "She said yes — so guess what, on that basis we will be offering free university education from September of this year."
Browne framed the policy as a long-term economic and social investment, arguing that access to higher education will determine the country's ability to compete on the world stage. "This is the area that is going to give us a competitive advantage globally — by making sure that every single person has the capacity to get a degree," he said.
The announcement builds on years of gradual expansion of tertiary education access across the Caribbean, where the high cost of university study has long been a barrier for low- and middle-income families. Many Antiguan students have historically been required to travel to University of the West Indies campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, or Trinidad, or pursue studies abroad at considerable personal and financial expense. The promise of free, on-island university education — including professional programmes such as law — would represent a dramatic shift in that reality, if fully implemented.
Browne was emphatic that the administration had no intention of delaying. "We are not waiting — because as far as we are concerned, this is the area that is going to give us a competitive advantage globally," he said.
A manifesto launch scheduled for Monday at AUA is expected to provide further clarity on how the policy will be structured and financially sustained.
