Higher education important

WHILE Caribbean governments are being severely impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic, a former regional leader says they must not renege on their duty to ensure that there is continued access to higher education for the people of the Caribbean.

Former Prime Minister of Jamaica, P.J. Patterson, drawing on his experience of leading Jamaica from 1992 to 2006, noted that while the contraction of the economy and the reduction in personal incomes caused by the pandemic will result in government revenue and debt servicing budgets being adversely affected, governments must ensure that access to higher

education is expanded, and not reduced.

He was at the time delivering remarks during a recently held virtual event dubbed ‘The University in an Age of Activism’, hosted by the Centre for Reparations Research and the Institute of Caribbean Studies and the University of the West Indies. His comments came as he noted that The University of the West Indies has served the descendants of enslaved Africans and Indian indentured labourers in the Caribbean well over the years.

In fact, Patterson said that the university ensures the social mobility of its students, many of whom are from humble circumstances, through the delivery of quality education.

“This therefore requires us all to step up to the plate. The private sector must realise their compelling need for graduates in their business operations and we as alumni must give something back to the debt we owe for our access to tertiary education,” Patterson said.

His comments came as he spoke of the hardships endured by people of colour, and he said efforts must be made to improve their lot.

The Former Prime Minister continued, “Let us draw inspiration from the victories of our ancestors who survived the ravages of the Middle Passage. Let us encourage and amplify the discourse of marginalised peoples everywhere, strive for slavery reparations. Let us promote investments to eradicate poverty and acknowledge the diverse identities and experiences of Black slave descendants in the USA, the Caribbean and elsewhere; and of Black migrants from the Caribbean, Africa and elsewhere to the developed countries”.

Moreover, he called for steps to be taken to develop and implement global policies that foster non-discriminatory practices, so as to ensure the equal treatment of people of colour, by law.

“We must remain in the vanguard of the quest for liberty and justice now and in the years ahead,” he contended. (JRT)

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