UNIVERSITY of Technology (UTech) president, Professor Stephen Vasciannie has identified course selection and emphasis as factors which restrict university access.

He noted that in recent years the Government has emphasised the importance of sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, which he said is consistent with international trends. He further pointed out that STEM subjects have significantly impacted the country’s economic development by driving major new developments, and are key determinants in the way we live today.

“The problem, however, is that the Jamaican cultural and educational environment, at the primary and secondary levels, may not be raising students to the levels of competency ultimately required for expertise in STEM at university. To put the matter at its minimum, many of us do not excel in mathematics, the foundation stone for aptitude in STEM, and to take the matter further, many of us do not like mathematics, so that we strategise from an early stage about how to achieve academic success without having to pass CSEC mathematics or its equivalent.

There have been various Government incentives, he said, to turn this issue around and to promote mathematically adept students in large numbers. “But the proof of this pudding is still to be established. The practical result is that some persons do not gain access to university because, no matter where they search, they cannot find ‘x’, the cosine of x, or the first derivative of ‘x’.

“Also, perhaps a larger group of students will find x, but, upon entering university, will immediately resolve to lose it in order to do non-mathematical subjects. Thus, we have in place a cultural cycle which discourages STEM achievement at a time when this is where governmental emphasis lies.

“If UTech — which also emphasises STEM — is to enhance its intake from Dinthill and other schools, we will need to be spreading the joys of x throughout the society,” Professsor Vasciannie offered.

Addressing Saturday night’s annual dinner of the Dinthill Technical High School Alumni Association, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Linstead, St Catherine-based institution, Professor Vasciannie said university numbers can be increased by encouraging greater appreciation of university studies, enhancing the financing of education, and making a concerted effort to promote mathematics.

The UTech president said Government’s emphasis on STEM is justifiable, as employers want practical, technically equipped, science and technology graduates — engineers, computer scientists, physicists, biologists, architects, surveyors, pharmacists and so on — who can help push forward the Jamaican economy.

“But society cannot live by STEM alone. In recognition of this, our policy makers sometimes refer to STEAM, thus incorporating the arts in the description of what our education system needs to produce. The incorporation of the ‘A’ in STEAM is a step in the right direction, but one wonders if it goes far enough.

“From my vantage point, our educational system should expose our secondary students to a wide range of possibilities, so that, in addition to STEM, students heading for university should be introduced to world literature, history, geography, music, entrepreneurship, law, and many other subjects.

“At the university level, we should not adopt a narrow focus. We should realise that the scientist who is doing research on herbal remedies ought to be exposed to philosophy, economics, cultural studies and other areas of scholarship, and we should cultivate the view that the university provides an intellectual environment in which some issues are explored not only for their practical value, but because they help us to understand our identities, our values, and possibly our destiny.

“Another general point I wish to make about education is that it should be fun. Or if not fun, challenging. Or if not challenging, logical. Or if not logical, relevant. Students at all levels should wish to attend school, not only to watch, the Champs or ‘Schools’ Challenge team flourish — although they should certainly want that — but they should want to be at school to enjoy the delights of learning, to acquire the discipline of organising things, and to tackle the challenge of exploring ideas and of dealing with them in an orderly manner.

“Most schools accept that their offerings should be interesting for students. I would note, however, that sometimes the interest factor conflicts with the requirements of order in the school. The buzz of a good class lesson in action may mean that the neighbouring classroom is negatively affected if school conditions are tight,” said Professor Vasciannie.

“Dinthill graduates must be equipped to fit comfortably into programmes of study at the UTech. And we are pleased to receive Dinthill graduates, and we wish to encourage even greater collaboration between both institutions.

The university president said in the four years from 2014 to 2018, UTech’s records indicate that it received a total of 155 Dinthill students. In 2014/15 it accepted 51 students, and then 42, 31 and 31 students in each of the subsequent years. Of the 155 students accepted in the four-year period, 80 have been female and 75 male: so, there is an approximately equality in gender terms.

“The total of 155 Dinthill graduates coming to us at UTech is to be noted in positive terms. But, at the same time, we should also note that in the two most recent years the intake has been 31 graduates, down from 51 in 2014. This, I believe, presents us all — from Dinthill and from UTech — with the question: how can we raise the number of Dinthill graduates back up to 51 and beyond for each year?

“….How do we move Dinthill/UTech from 31 back to 51 for a start? In the first place, we must all continue with efforts to enhance access to university education for our students. As a part of this, tertiary institutions should redouble efforts to convey the excitement of university education to students,” Professor Vasciannie told the packed room of Dinthill past students.