Franklin Johnston, Contributor

Johnston

Science, Technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is the key to economic development. This has always been the case. Some 90,000 years ago, a small band of the first humans left Mother Africa and went north. They found themselves in frozen and unfriendly environments and were forced to produce in four months, the food, shelter and fuel required to sustain themselves for a full year.

They were not geniuses; circumstances forced them to create technologies which multiplied the productivity of the individual; thus, the blade, the wheel and the hoe were invented ... the leading-edge technologies of the day.

Around the year 1200, while travelling in their latest invention (ocean-going ships) the scion of that small band reached the land of their ancestors ... they did not recognise their brethren, nor did their brethren recognise them. That small group was so creative that by the year 1500 the population sustained outside had grown to more than six times that inside Africa. Such is the power of innovation and technology.

Despite freedom and independence, Jamaicans who were merely surviving in the 19th century are still at subsistence level in the 21st century. The environment is a blessing and a curse. One 19th century civil servant complained to his bosses at the British Colonial Office ... he wished for an icy winter, as this would compel Jamaicans to work hard and be frugal; he lamented the availability of mangoes and breadfruit which required no husbandry by the people, except as reapers; he opined that Jamaica would be more prosperous than England, were the living not so easy.

'world power'

From prehistoric times, every group leaving Africa was prompted by hardship - climate change, famine, slavery and war. Most of those who left became leaders in technology, innovation and development. Since Independence, few Jamaicans have pulled their weight in technology, innovation and nation building. Jamaica was the 'world power' in sugar, bananas and bauxite, yet local innovation never matched this eminence and no technology legacies exist which assist the nation.

The Intellectual Property (IP) created in early industries elsewhere, e.g., cotton, laid a technology foundation for those countries. Today, a single product as the Audi A8, launched a few years ago, incorporates over 6,000 international patents.

The 21st century provides another opportunity for Jamaica to achieve development. The innovations which lead to development are made by people with a passion for enquiry and institutions which nurture them. India is proof that 'world-class' innovation can emerge side-by-side with grinding poverty. Poverty is no excuse; choices are what matter.

Technology education unleashes human ingenuity and Jamaica should begin to 'punch above its weight' in innovation, as it has done so consistently in sport and entertainment. Jamaicans have favoured the 'learned' professions, arts and humanities; but, development is not related to an abundance of economists but of innovation and technology.

TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

The Jamaica Institute of Technology (JIT) started in 1958, had a name change to the College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST) and became a reputable provider of 'work ready' graduates. Then in 1999, another name change created the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech). The change from College to University was qualitatively different from the earlier ones; unfortunately, the core vision remained the same ... preparing students for the job market.

CAST was for decades the 'only game in town' and it graduated 'hands-on' students to jobs in industry. The college had a known niche in the market. It did not prepare the 'captains' of industry, academics or the 'mandarins' of government. It trained technologists and certain managers with great success.

The 1970s and '80s were turbulent times. At the time of to change to a university, industry was in decline and factory technologies were obsolete. By the 1990s the demand for core CAST graduates had disappeared.The supply side also changed. Private and government-financed tertiary providers emerged and interlopers 'taking away CAST students' was normal. These providers were 'nimble' as entry level capital was modest and they had low overheads. They floated courses at competitive prices, and often they used the same part-time lecturers as CAST.

Elevated to the pinnacle

The college reacted with another name change and this elevated it to the pinnacle - a university. UTech was born at a time of strong competition, decline in manufacture; massive growth in trading, global market forces (WTO, etc) and a decline in Government (GOJ) funding and protection. In history, hardships have been known to elicit innovation to ensure survival; and people and nations are either crushed or strengthened by challenges. The decisions they make determine their fate.

CAST was not a university college and UTech started on a platform that was not fit-for-purpose.The college bequeathed a good brand and an excellent reputation in 'hands-on' education. However, this legacy is not a garment which should be flaunted by a university; and it has contributed to a most unfortunate blurring of the boundaries between the collegiate and university in areas as academic standards, values and outputs. UTech needs more time to deconstruct and then reconstruct for academic excellence. The next seven years will be most important to its core business and reputation; as the current hype is largely a hangover from the college. The challenge for the university is to build academic quality and produce high quality graduates, research and innovation. The task is uphill; many employees are not experienced university people and the technology infrastructure is not pristine. But, there are strategies which can fast-track development and yield good results quickly.

The seamless transition from CAST to UTech was desirable and practical but it may not benefit the university, qua university. The usual practice - to separate the employees, compensate them; afford them first refusal on the new jobs; hire them if they meet the criteria and if not, hire others who do - was not observed at CAST. The modality used avoided dislocation but could prove costly to the quality and performance of the new university. Despite this, technology education, with UTech at the epicentre, can ignite and fuel a new 'development revolution', in the run-up to 2020. The challenge for the university is to create and empower the 'mind ready' innovator, with the 'work ready' graduate as the default output.

ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

Resources are scarce and there is no shortage of good causes. As in other areas, value-added is an important measure in tertiary education, and in this, technology education has the clear advantage. The university does not receive all the money it needs from government. Basic salary and related costs is granted to many agencies, and somehow, they must meet other expenses. Despite this, the university must hold to a high achieving vision and strive for excellence.

The nation is better off, if the university is an enclave of STEM excellence, generating innovation; than if it succumbs to massification policies and produces modest graduates and research. The future scenario envisages a decline in book grants and for the university to earn major income from fee-earning services sold to the private sector and government; to spin-off enterprise companies and develop saleable technologies which impact priorities as crime, poverty, unemployment, health care, housing and food security.

Government is no longer the 'engine of growth'. It is the facilitator - whether in making roads or jobs - catalyst, promoter, guarantor and regulator. The GOJ mechanism for funding students (and thereby, the university) in future, should be scholarships and loan schemes operated by the financial sector. Students who seek university education do so as an investment in self, not fo motives. Like any other investor, students take a risk and expect a good profit in a lifetime of good salaries and business starts ... and most do.

Scholarships should be given to incentivise brilliant students, to channel talent to important gaps in the labour market and to the creative and cultural industries - priests, artists, poets. A loan should be available to every person who meets the matriculation criteria and wishes to attend university. Government's role should be to bear the secondary risk and insure all student loans. A retooled UTech which offers high quality, STEM courses, cutting edge research, which markets effectively, will get good quality lecturers, researchers and students, earn good revenues and be profitable.

'Creative' with standards

There is an unfortunate tendency for universities to become 'creative' with entry standards. Poor primary and secondary graduates are among the factors driving this; as also some feral need to grow numbers and possibly, sacrifice academic quality. The university should avoid 'income driven growth' and implement backward integration to promote and mentor science, mathematics and other subjects and pupils in schools and thereby, grow some of its own matriculants.

Primary pupils are not versed in the four R's and avoid STEM subjects as they are seen as difficult ... This is a major handicap to the 'supply chain' which enures to high scholarship and innovation. Many pupils sit examinations in subjects as religious knowledge and home economics; yet there is no commensurate growth of careers in religious orders, food service or even good chefs; there are no large numbers of young people glowing with inner peace, no outbreak of peace and love in schools and communities; nor is there any calming, opiate effect in the society.

Tertiary education is also an opaque sector. Primary and secondary education are transparent owing to standardised curricula, examinations and local league tables. The lack of comparative data on universities means that parents, students and taxpayers are treated to 'hype' and grossly disrespected. Other government, private and offshore tertiary education institutions have a substantial percentage of the liberal arts, business and 'work ready' market but little capacity in technology education.

UTech will add more value to the nation by avoiding those disciplines and bringing focus to STEM disciplines. Offshore providers have an advantage, as under Mode 4, they can bring their 'brand name', professors and authors to lecture part-time, make cameo visits and upstage the locals. UTech is virtually immune from this competition and should do exceptionally well in the 2020 period, as it embraces reorganisation and migrates to a full STEM platform. More anon!