The Editor, Sir:

I write in response to your article published on Sunday, April 19, re a serious shortage of civil engineers in Jamaica. I am a Jamaican who has been awarded a scholarship to study in Cuba and I am now a final year chemical engineering student at the University of Matanzas Camilo Cienfuegos in Cuba.

I am perturbed by the way Cuban graduates are treated on the completion of degrees.

I have seen Jamaicans who graduated from Cuba and having returned home have to settle for just about anything as if our degree is not valued as much as an engineering degree obtained from Trinidad and Tobago.

This is evidently seen in Omar Sweeney's declarations as he rightly said that there is a serious void in the number of civil engineers and other engineers as well, but he failed to note that there were Jamaicans studying engineering here in Cuba.

He made mention of the institutions that have been producing these professionals, but at no given time was mention made of Cuba. Is it a fact that we have Cuban natives (engineers) undertaking or who have undertaken projects hired by the government itself? Then, isn't the engineering programmes offered by Cuba just as valid as those offered by University of the West Indies in T&T?

In just last year, I can make mention of at least two civil engineers who have graduated from Cuba and next year there should be another two who will be graduating. I am aware of other engineers who will be leaving here soon, but we are apparently not what the Jamaica Institute of Engineers (JIE) requires.

Prejudiced

The programme offered to us as Cuban graduates has prepared us for the world at large, as our programme was given in Spanish thus making us bilingual. We then are able to spread our wings to places beyond the English-speaking boundaries. I can then see the JIE complaining even more when we take up offers from South Africa (they accept Cuban degrees) and other places like Spain, Venezuela, etc.

We have options, but as a people we are prejudiced thus we will be feeling the drain as it impacts our society tomorrow.

I am, etc.,

SHAVEN HENDRICKS

kenuspoilas@yahoo.com

universidad de matanzas

Matanzas, Cuba