KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Sir Hilary Beckles says that all UWI campuses will soon have Spanish as a compulsory course.

Beckles yesterday highlighted the need for Spanish as a compulsory course in the tertiary institutions as a way to strengthen relations between CARICOM and Latin American territories.

He was speaking at the “Brexit: Implications for the Caribbean” symposium at the UWI Regional Headquarters attended by a host of academics, diplomats, past and present State officials, members of the private sector and CARICOM representatives.

His declaration comes in light of last week’s historic referendum in the United Kingdom (UK) – dubbed Brexit – which resulted in the UK opting to officially part ways with the European Union (EU) after a 43-year spell. It is widely believed that this split will have negative consequences for the commonwealth and Beckles believes that by implementing this feat, the relationship between the communities of Latin America and Caribbean states will be strengthened.

He expounded on the subject explaining that the institution is currently holding talks with the Mexican Government to finalize a deal that would see how best this initiative can be accommodated.

“Here at the University of the West Indies, we are working assiduously to have all graduates of this institution speaking Spanish with great proficiency upon their graduation. We are in talks with the Mexican government to see how best we can accommodate this in the coming years.” Beckles said.

Similar sentiments were shared by Prime Minister Andrew Holness earlier this month saying “Jamaica will have to take the bold step to make Spanish our second language and making it compulsory in schools,” and by Opposition member Lisa Hanna in the House of Representatives’ Sectoral presentation on Tuesday.

Beckles made this statement after a petition was made by UWI Government lecturers, Dr Jessica Byron and Dr Suzette Haughton, who both highlighted the need for steps to be taken by CARICOM to bolster its correlation with Latin America.

“It cannot be business as usual for Caricom, we need to urgently deepen and strengthen our core relations and policies with Latin America,” Haughton said. Byron added her support for the statement imploring that “we need to make the effort in order to be the controllers of our own destiny.”

Marc Risden