My last letter to the editor was in response to a junkanoo related item from the Budget Presentation which generated useful dialogue. This letter has also arisen from the Budget with respect to the Government’s allocation of funds to take the College of The Bahamas (COB) to University status. There has been a lot of talk about this initiative over the past several years, and the public has been subjected to bursts of information every now and then as the specially formed COB University Task Force carries out its mandate.
Although I might well be in the minority position on this issue, I would like to publicly state that I totally disagree with this initiative because, in a nutshell:
- We do not need a University; and
- We simply cannot afford it.
WHY? Why do we need to have a University of The Bahamas? Are we ashamed because we “just have a College”? There is no shame in realizing that we can’t afford a University. The reason we have so many financial problems now is because ‘we too big eye just for show’!
Why are we trying to reinvent the wheel? We are a small country – we do not need our own University when the University of the West Indies is right across the water, already established and respected (and if I am not mistaken, already significantly funded by the Bahamian Government). In addition, COB has already developed excellent relationships with respected universities all around the world who are providing accreditation through their programmes. Why not continue to develop these relationships and tailor them to our needs?
WHERE? Where is this university campus going to be located? The present site is certainly not suitable since a university needs a lot of space in itself as well as significant additional space for expansion.
HOW? A university requires an unending source of revenue and funding in order to operate and sustain itself. How will we pay for and administer the development of this type of institution with its huge infrastructure of buildings, equipment, supplies, furniture, labs, classrooms, libraries, housing, computers, electricity, water, maintenance, landscaping, cleaning and the list goes on and on. We cannot even keep COB running efficiently and effectively on its present inadequate budget (not to mention trying to register several thousand students every semester without long waits and all sorts of confusion!) so how will we create a university which requires a budget which is so much greater, many times over? Where is the logic in that?
Do we want to take on this government building project (like the new stadium, or the new courts, or the many other buildings around the country that on the one hand are poorly built at enormous expense and lots of opening fanfare, whilst on the other hand they have no proper contract management or maintenance plans so that they fall quickly into disrepair and money pours down the drain?) As an aside on this topic, I would like to make note of the deplorable state of the Portia Smith Building at COB, which is a disgrace. Her name should be removed. Have we no shame? How can we put the name of this academic hero (my former classmate) on such a ‘broke down’ building? This demonstrates a total lack of respect for her legacy!
WHO? Who is going to staff the university? Where will the money come from to pay the huge salaries needed in order to attract the highly qualified faculty members and administrative staff? Also, who is going to attend the University – will it cater to Bahamian students from all over The Bahamas, or is the plan to attract more foreign students, or both? If so, where are they going to be housed? Add dormitories to that list above…and don’t forget food and other ancillary services. What will be the fee scale for persons attending the university, since students are struggling now to meet the meager fee scales presently set at COB?
Looming over this topic of university status however, is the more pressing issue of the alarming state of public education in the country. Our educational system is in crisis. This is a serious problem which needs to be fixed first. Why are we concentrating on expanding tertiary education when the basic primary structure is broken, i.e. the baby jus’ born and can’t even sit up straight yet, more less creep, and we already got the hurdles set up in the yard – you have to learn to creep before you can leap! We are putting the cart before the horse if we are attempting to develop a university when the majority of our high school students leave school not being able to read, write and compute properly – isn’t something drastically wrong with that equation?
Instead of spending money on a University of The Bahamas – why not channel financial resources and planning into tackling the many deficiencies inherent in the country’s primary, junior and high school system? The entire country is suffering. As Patricia Glinton Meicholas so aptly states in her address at this year’s Dr Keva Bethel Lecture Series:
Above all, let us begin the change process in education at the beginning—the primary level. Here iswhere the best of the best should be assigned—the best and most caring administrators and classroom practitioners…. Lessons must be rich in the challenge of extrapolation, application, analysis, evaluation and creation of new knowledge. Given the increasing disaffection of Bahamian youth, it is as urgent to concentrate on the development of the affective domain of learning, which targets awareness and growth in attitudes,emotion, feelings, peaceful interaction with others and conflict resolution.
To assist students presently in the school system, there needs to be significant investment in remedial teaching programmes in order to bring struggling students up to standard. Funds need to be allocated to train and hire these specialized teachers, and I dare say that we have enough students in the present system to dedicate an entire school to remedial training (in fact, I think COB offers remedial courses themselves).
In addition, the present COB educational degree curriculum should be reexamined so that teacher training is more stringent and specialized – we need many more properly trained teachers in english, mathematics and science. The educational system, indeed the whole country, needs to strive for excellence as its benchmark, not mediocrity.
In my day as a student:
- Teachers were one of the most highly respected professionals in the country;
- Teaching was an honourable, and one of the most important professions and they were paid accordingly;
- We might not have had fancy classrooms (in fact many lessons were taught under the shade of the school trees in the yard) but the teachers were highly trained and we learned our lessons;
- Education was a privilege that was not taken for granted – it was a way of improving your lot in life. If nothing else, you left school being able to read, write and do ‘rithmetic;
- If you misbehaved you ‘felt’ it – corporal punishment was meted out with regularity and without question;
- Parents were an integral part of the school community;
- Being able to afford and attend THE Government High School (whose last location was on the present COB campus) was a privilege. The school was established to provide education for those students who showed academic promise. Contrary to what some might think, GHS was not elitist, it was sensible – we need to bring this type of institution back.
I know that many younger people sigh when they hear their elders use the term “in my day” but we need to appreciate the valuable lessons from our past in order to lay the path of our future.
What contributed to the downward spiral of educational importance in the country? I think that economic concerns overshadowed educational ones when the impact of the tourism boom in the country’s post independence years ushered in employment opportunities that were based largely in the service industry where persons could make fast money as opposed to having to use their ‘book learning’ skills. Close on the heels of this boom came the scourge of the drug trade era which provided even faster money and an unprecedented quest for greater materialism. Sadly during this time, many students when asked what they wanted to be, stated without hesitation: “drug dealer” – and the importance of obtaining a solid education diminished (as Dr Offff bemoaned in the words of his popular Get Involved song “Don’ be no fool, stay in school!”)
In this 40th year of Independence we cannot ignore the natural results of progress – it is what it is. However, we do need to be cognizant of how and why the balance shifts. We must dig deep and search hard and fast to put our country back on a proper educational level. There is a lot of serious work to be done ‘in the first beginning’ and to my common sense way of thinking, trying to move COB to University status is not a priority!
While I agree with you about the state of primary and secondary education in our country I disagree with your position on University of The Bahamas … A college typically provides a 4 yr degree. A university typically provides postgraduated degrees and is therefore research based. While there is somewhat of a chicken and egg situation with universities, great professors are attracted to the research programme and great research programmes attract corporate research grants that fund them. When done effectively, they become an “economy” of their own. They attract world wide students… As for locaion, GB Devco already reserved 270 acs of land for such a venture and the late Jackson Burnside prepared a conceptual masterplan for that parcel… the question is not can this be done and can it be a major contributor to the Bahamian economy, the question is do we have the leadership to pull it off and not just make it an extension of COB (a non research-based govt funded institution).
Pamela Burnside you are so correct and on the mark.. As a nation we always crave the things we can not afford, and that has resulted in the financial mess our country finds itself in as we confront a rather unstable and frightening future..
Your courageous reference concerning “THE Government High School” could not be more correct in this era of failing education.. To educate the masses is both noble and even worthwhile, but for education to be truly successful, it must be structured to “to provide education for those students who showed academic promise”.. The education system in the United States from the elementary level through college has been declining for over the fifty years as increased government influence and funding has debased this once great system.. We certain don’t want that to happen in the Bahamas, but it is apparent that we are going down the same path as the United States towards educational mediocrity and decline..
We don’t need in our Bahamas so-called university status; nevertheless, we do need the College of the Bahamas to continue to meet the increasing educational and training needs of the country.. Government assistance is acceptable as long as government is restricted from interfering with the college administration and its academic curriculum..
Lets face it, the government is broke and is using every scheme (VAT) and method (raising fees and customs duties) to raise revenues on the backs of Bahamian taxpayers.. We cannot afford to have the Collage of Bahamas become anything like our deficit ridden public corporations that are costing the country’s taxpayers tens of millions of dollars every year.. From a financial standpoint, as you have so clearly demonstrated Pamela, we cannot afford to move the College of the Bahamas to university status..
Today we need a College of the Bahamas that all Bahamians can be proud of and serves the nation’s higher educational needs, and not a university that will always be a third tier institution lacking the necessary resources to be any thing more that a massive drain on the scarce financial resources of our country.. We have a good College, lets make it even better in its contribution to making a better Bahamas..
I am not sure of the identity of the writer nor am I sure that I want to know, given her OUTDATED, SELFISH and SPECIOUS views.
For at least 20 years, global competitiveness has been driven in large part by knowledge capital, not physical capital. The fact is that most Bahamians cannot afford to go overseas to pursue higher education, given its prohibitive costs, even though many of us have done so – perhaps the writer, also? Finally, whilst her arguments appear sensible, they are not, because the much bigger cost is one of ignorance, the effects of which we are feeling now, as a country, but one thing is clear: Idiocy rules and is one reason why our country cannot fulfil its 1973 mandate to move ‘Forward, Upward, Onward, Together’!
I am in the midst of an interesting advanced postgraduate research at the moment (international business) that is throwing up an unmistakeable peripheral finding, i.e. a finding that I had not set out to uncover: for a country or region to possess a deep pool of talent is rapidly becoming the central plank of national investment promotion campaigns. So, if we think we don’t have the money or monies could be better prioritised, we ought to consider diverting existing budgets, such as our investment promotion budget and re-direct funds to a full tertiary institution because the only thing more expensive than education is ignorance, witness this quote from JFK: “Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.” … “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” …. President John F. Kennedy, February 20, 1961.
P.S.1 Tomorrow, with a glass of France’s finest Champagne, a taste of Russia’s rarest Black Caviar and a meal cooked by lovely wife, I will celebrate my 20th anniversary in the UK; reading crap like this continues to reinforce and vindicate my decision to leave my beloved Bahamas when I did and reluctantly contribute my best and most productive years to a country that, at least, pretends to be interested in placing knowledge assets at the heart of its continuing national development and competitiveness.
P.S. 2 – For those of you who missed it, I refer you to my Blog of Friday, 21st September, 2012
Why The Bahamas (like ALL developing) countries urgently needs a complete Higher Education system:
http://www.weblogbahamas.com/blog_bahamas/2012/09/why-the-bahamas-like-all-developing-countries-urgently-needs-higher-education.html
S3S, Mrs. Burnside is one fabulous lady and is the widow of the great Jackson Burnside III. The two of them have done more to assist with education and culture than most Bahamians.
But all that is really irrelevant because she is correct in her views.
We can’t even get primary education sorted, and we want a university?
Look where the US educational system is today after Kennedy’s admonition and billions of dollars.
Talk about pie in the sky.
This argument illustrates the same principals working against the war on crime:
We all want peace and safety but,
refuse to obey the laws!
A Bahamian university would exist naturally as an extension of a truly progressive society.
progressive in the sense that,
we could have fed the minds of our young with wholesome content, not developed the refined philosophy of stabbing each other in the back,
and observed the rule of law.
(Government, citizen and courts alike)
Should have truly Invested in our country and each other instead of paying decades of lip service to National identity and false pride.
COB has been the stepping stone for many fine Bahamians, (most of whom have left)
but also created a few miscreants.
True also of institutions of higher learning globally.
Theory abounds,
action is missing.
Perhaps, I should genuflect before commenting next time?
As for the state of the US education system, say what you want, but depending on the Ranking you look at, the US contains anywhere from 17 to as many as 27 of the world’s top 50 universities:
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013/reputation-ranking
http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2013/statistics-and-operational-research
Since university graduates feed industry, it’s not difficult to see why or how US firms are amongst the best in the world and the US economy, despite suffering a downturn recently, is so resilient.
No need to genuflect S3S.
Tell me, where will the students come from if we are failing to provide them with a high school education?
Can you confirm how the US colleges are also dropping in the rankings?
Rick,
If you want to see my plan for a ‘public-private’ Higher Education Institution in The Bahamas, you’ll have to wait a tad longer, I’m afraid.
On the question of students, we have sufficient good students in the country to ‘seed’ the university, but unfortunately, they will have to be supplemented by not-so-good students from home, with a fair proportion coming from abroad (neighbouring countries plus those from farther away), once we get our value proposition right.
As Prof. Michael Porter noted in his study of the phenomenon of HEIs as economic drivers, a key point that we overlook in this debate:
“Colleges and universities have long been important economic drivers in their surrounding communities, and their potential impact on the wider, regional economy has been growing dramatically. Yet few institutions have managed their role in economic development strategically, nor have they fully leveraged the surrounding economy to improve their own competitive position”.
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ff0710s.pdf
Finally, I am not aware of any evidence that suggests that US universities are dropping in the world rankings, … all evidence points to the contrary. In fact, this publication lists 57 in the top 100:
http://cwur.org/top100.html
S3S, time to accept reality.. No one here is opposed to the advancement of higher education as most of use are products of higher education.. I was privileged to spend over eight years in higher education which changed my life forever.. Life has become an exercise in higher education as everyday is an experience in learning.. When I finished my formal education, challenging employment were abundant and readily available.. Today such is not the case as jobs are very scarce and limited in scope and opportunity.. Regretfully this seems to be a new norm that is rapidly becoming a fixed standard in our stagnate economic environment..
Of course this raises the question of what we need verses what we want.. Today higher education has priced itself almost our of the market.. Fifty years ago Harvard College (the undergraduate school) costs about $16,550 per year.. Today full tuition runs over $56,000.. Without scholarship assistance, many qualified students are priced out of consideration.. The same is true for the other Ivy League and the Sister Seven schools.. The culprit, of course, is massive government research funding and direct government, student loan assistance which has caused annual tuition costs to skyrocket.. What once appeared to be a good idea has turned out to be a total disaster.. Once again government meddling and interference has taken its unfortunate toll as an American university education has fallen from first to 19th in world rankings.. Take a careful look at our College of the Bahamas and you will see similarities to the declining American experience..
As I said before and shall say again, it is far better to have an outstanding College of the Bahamas than to have a third rate university.. May I add to Pamela Burnside, your insight and views are courageous and makes a real contribution to this continuing and never ending discussion..
PS.. S3S, congratulations to your outstanding achievements over the last 20 years.. You make the Bahamas proud of your accomplishments.. Well done and bottoms up old boy..
May I cut into line Rick to address S3S’s unawareness?? I am the culprit that often makes reference to the decline of United States education.. My statements were based on a lengthy study undertaken by I believe either the Rand Corporation or maybe the Hoover Institute.. Unfortunately in searching my reference files I was unable to find the study in question and so I cannot cite specific reference..
What I do remember from reference notes was that the study’s time frame was over a fifty year period, from 1960 through 2010.. It encompassed both secondary and university levels of education and included a wide sample and variety of academically accredited institutions.. In 1960 the United States was the unchallenged world leader in education achievement ranking in first place by a wide margin.. Over the next fifty years, this ranking declined from first to the 32nd place for secondary education, and from first to 18th place for college graduates..
It should be remembered that his was the era for what became known as the progressive education era where the Federal Government began to interfere with the underlying curriculum, admission policies and administration procedures.. The power of government funding of education was felt across the board from the elementary to graduate school levels.. Institutions, responding to large government grants and support, became far less selective in its admissions process as well as in the hiring needs for a larger faculty.. One can only conclude government pressure and interference played a significant roll in the gradual decline of American education as set forth in the study’s findings..
As a secondary note in passing, the top tier educational institutions have always remained at or near the top of your 100 list.. What I was referring to was overall national achievement in education and not the accomplishments of the best of the best.. Do hope this adds some clarity and awareness..