GROUP CHAIRMAN'S BLOG
Articles & Columns Published in the Jamaican Sunday Gleaner by Dr. Winston Adams
Universities A Growth ImperativeUniversities A Growth ImperativeMarch 19, 2017 "No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated." - Nelson Mandela
Former prime minister of Jamaica Edward Seaga often said, "No poor country is educated, and no educated country is poor." No matter how it is described, leaders across the world have all pointed to education as critical to the economic and social development of any nation. The need for greater emphasis on higher education in Jamaica has been acknowledged by the Michael Lee Chin-led Economic Growth Council (EGC) in its September 2016 document Call to Action, which listed "poor human capital and entrepreneurship" as one of the main retardants to Jamaica's economic growth. But the question arises, has Jamaica developed a higher- education sector to prepare a workforce that will fill all the human-resources needs for Jamaica to achieve developed-country status in the shortest possible time? |
Are Colleges Preparing Graduates For Entrepreneurship?Are Colleges Preparing Graduates For Entrepreneurship?September 3, 2017 JAMAICA'S JOB market is extremely challenging for many graduates leaving universities and colleges. Gone are the days of the 1960s and '70s when students leaving the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the University of Technology (UTech), formerly CAST, had the choice of several attractive positions in the private and public sectors. Apart from traditional professions, such as medicine, nursing, law and teaching - for which there is a steady annual demand because of migration - many graduates of tertiary institutions struggle to find fulfilling employment. With their numbers increasing, more young college or university graduates are being encouraged to start their own businesses. It is a fact that, with the increase in information and computer technology, most jobs of the future will not be lifelong engagements with large private or public entities. Rather, these jobs will be of shorter duration with much technology-driven and macroeconomically-driven change and require retraining, upskilling and lifelong learning. Traditional jobs will be the subject of fierce competition and many graduates will need to create their own jobs and enterprises, or work in teams to do this. |
Making Tertiary Education More AffordableMaking Tertiary Education More AffordableJune 18, 2017 Government's recent bailout of hundreds of local tertiary students represented a timely reminder of the imbalance between the potential demand by Jamaican students for the provision of tertiary education and the inability of these students to afford such services. Recall that in April this year - the onset of the 'exam season' - hundreds of university and college students faced the grim reality of being barred from sitting their final exams because of unpaid tuition fees. This situation has become a recurring decimal each year as more and more students seek to attend tertiary institutions, while being unable to meet the rising costs of such higher-level studies. Add to this the factor of continuing globalisation, which has driven universities to become business enterprises. Universities everywhere are reducing their reliance on public support and are seeking to become more entrepreneurial. Compare the University of the West Indies, Mona, now to 15 years ago. Government's injection of $300 million to assist needy students at the UWI, Mona, the University of Technology, and the Caribbean Maritime Institute campuses is a decision that was indeed applauded by the Opposition People's National Party and student leaders. |
