The ordeal of St Lucian Sherline Gabriel, who told of losing thousands of dollars in tuition at an unaccredited school in an exclusive Barbados TODAY story, ended today with a full scholarship offer from a bona fide school.
It was last Thursday that Gabriel told Barbados TODAY of her ordeal in obtaining a student visa and spending $2,840 to obtain a Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) in cosmetology at the Barbados Cosmetology School at 116 Roebuck Street.
From left, St Lucian national Sherline Gabriel receives a full academic scholarship from Programme Coordinator at the Career Development Institute Sharon Rawlins.
The school is not on the register of approved learning institutions held by the Barbados Accreditation Council.
But after reading her plight in Money Gone, the back page lead story in last Thursday’s e-paper, officials of the Career Development Institute contacted Barbados TODAY and today presented Gabriel with a full academic scholarship valued at over $5,000 for her to complete her CVQ.
Programme Coordinator Sharon Rawlins said: “We were a bit disappointed because she came here paid her money and then she did not have the opportunity to fulfill her dream of having an accredited programme.
“We decided we would offer a full scholarship to pursue the CVQ in Cosmetology with the Career Development Institute in our semester starting in September.”
The institute’s programme coordinator said Gabriel would start the programme in September so she could cover all of the integral aspects of cosmetology.
“Our current class is pretty advanced, and we would want to ensure she covers the entire programme in order to be assessed that is why we are going towards the September programme,” Rawlins said.
The scholarship covers international student tuition of $4,200 and additional fees for equipment and supplies for the students to complete hair straightening and the programme’s other key components.
Barbados TODAY broke the news to an elated Gabriel who said she cannot wait to begin her course in September.
She said: “I was excited when [Barbados TODAY] called and told me about it. I am very happy about it. I would like to thank the Career Development Institute for granting me this scholarship which is giving me the opportunity to complete my cosmetology course. I would like to tell [the members of the Career Development Institute] that I really appreciate it very much and I will try my best.”
Several calls to the Barbados Cosmetology School’s principal, Pearl Francis, remain unanswered.
