At a time when the region needs more investment in innovation and knowledge creation, we have seen governments within the regional landscape retreat from this activity in the face of declining revenues and more strained budgets.
If the region is truly serious about economic growth, not only must there must be an increase in the number of students attending university, but a higher involvement in the role of these tertiary institutions.
President of the Guild of Students of the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill Campus 2016-2017, Olvine Holas, made the point while welcoming new students at Friday’s matriculation ceremony.
Saying that a mere six per cent of persons in the region were able to pursue tertiary education, he stated that the Caribbean region possessed one of the lowest per capita rates of access to tertiary education in the world – “a terrible recipe for economic growth”.
“At a time when the region needs more investment in innovation and knowledge creation, we have seen governments within the regional landscape retreat from this activity in the face of declining revenues and more strained budgets. I acknowledge that there are clear challenges with negotiating this particular period in time, with such strain placed on the budgets and the global economic recession giving way to a slow and painful recovery. We in the Guild of Students are deeply concerned about the future that we will have,” he stated.
Admitting that students therefore had a critical role to play, Holas insisted that there must be a commitment to the advancement of the regional mission of deeper integration; in shaping the region’s future; and in taking the first steps towards strengthening ourselves and our approach to the global market.
“We, as the educated and thinkers of our society have a responsibility to create a vision for the region we want, while staying true to the values that define the Caribbean person. We, a people of dance and musical expression, of great religious foundation and of tremendous diversity must show how we can change a difficult situation into a marvellous success. Certainly, we will succeed, we have fought and surpassed greater challenges, and as a people immersed in struggle we know that history will eventually absolve us,” Holas asserted. (JMB)
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