THE EDITOR, Sir:THE GENERAL apathy with which we view the tertiary students' plight is rather disconcerting. As a recent graduate of the UWI Mona, I find it remarkable that even as we press the social concern of education, we still view some of the key instruments in our quest as mere nuisances that embody all that is wrong with Jamaica.
No doubt the students should be held accountable for their actions but as you very well know, there are two sides to every story. I've seen the one where the press portrays the students as being mischief-making miscreants. What fails to make headlines is what got us there in the first place. The method of circumventing due process is something that our leaders are all too familiar with. In a time when we seek transparency and accountability, the first to shirk, it seems, are those in authority.
My UWI mentor borrowed the following phrase as his foundation for my tutelage, 'with great power comes great responsibility'. It therefore seems only fair that when charged with the responsibility of educating the youth of the Caribbean we give them and their guardians ample warning of any fee increases which are to be implemented. We also have a responsibility to the powers that be, who provided fiscal support (namely the governments who at one time bore 80 per cent of the financial cost), to run an efficient organisation. Not one laden with bloat and corruption.
I find it rather strange that concerns such as the academic staff to administrative staff ratio has not made it to the forefront of more discussions. At a time when aesthetics are a primary focus for an institution we still have issues with quality of education. It makes you wonder about the priorities. If the guardians of our administrative enterprises are incapable of executing in a professional fashion, it is no wonder our students are also incapable of doing the same.
I am etc.
PHILEAS MOREHOUSEN
strangejamaican@beer.com
