Dear Editor,

It piqued my interest when I read in the June 30 edition of the Jamaica Observer that Northern Caribbean University (NCU) has embarked on a new market-driven enterprise of offering courses that bring relevance to the times in which we live.

Kudos to Professor Lincoln Edwards for the visionary leadership he brings to that institution. It is laudable that a small, independent, faith-based liberal arts institution like NCU continues to do unusual things so well.

Its achievements in recent years have put the university on par with many Ivy Leaguers, and now the institution has conceived and birthed new courses to add to its ‘menu’ of offerings.

The news release states that this new paradigm is aimed at equipping people with new skills to foster employment, self-employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities. I call that relevance, catering to the times, or scratching where it itches.

As Jamaicans we were baptised into a colonial educational system that placed emphasis on cramming to the exclusion of those who were not thus gifted but could excel in other areas. Those of yesteryear will recall how challenging the General Certificate Exam (GCE) and the Associated Examining Boards (AEB) were. Even the Third Jamaica Local examinations were designed to keep students down. If you failed just one subject of the eight in the Third Jamaica Local exam, you failed the entire exam.

Thanks to the shift that came along with Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) students are now able to leave school with bags full of subjects.

These times demand that education delivery should be sensitive to the needs of the market and prepare professionals to meet these needs. While it is good to get a degree with all these credit hours, we find too many graduates who are struggling to find a niche because they were trained to get a brain full of information but were not taught how to put that information to practical use. Giving them requisite, marketable skills to meet the needs of the labour market is the next best step.

So for NCU to put in place diploma and certificate courses in animation, agriculture, entrepreneurship, digital marketing, and innovative technologies, among others, is visionary. I am glad the business sector has endorsed this and I trust it will become a model that other institutions will adopt.

For years NCU has subscribed to a work-study concept of education and is known for developing skills in printing, canning, wood work, baking, and farming, and it is unquestionable that students who engaged in these programmes went on to excel. Students who were rejects of society have gone to that institution and are now executives in corporations, technology gurus, church executives, educators par excellence, and scientists.

HEART/NSTA Trust is doing its best to meet the practical and skills needs of the society, but that’s not even the tip of the iceberg. It’s a national scandal to want to import skilled labourers to build hotels in Jamaica when we have so many idle hands that need to be equipped to make a life and a livelihood. Our institutions should be preparing a cadre of skilled workers to meet our domestic needs and those of overseas markets.

Thanks NCU for your forward-thinking. The institution has done wonders with research in the use of ackee, sorrel, cassava, etc. Your exploits are revolutionary.

I am proposing that every high school in Jamaica should have skills training as part of its curriculum. In this ultra-modern age no student should every leave high school without some skills training.

Not every child is an academician, but there are students who are kinaesthetic and can create wonders with their hands.

When I met Joe (pseudonym) in my English language class he was doing that course for the third time and could not achieve the minimum grade to make it to graduation. I had to invest extra time in coaching him so that he could pass. Years later I met him and he reminded me of how I helped him to graduate from school.

When I met him he was head of department of a reputable company that was involved in producing solar heating. From the new Prado I saw him driving and from his house that he showed me that he owned mortgage-free, it was obvious that he had “arrived”. All he had was a diploma from college, but he made his skills work for him. When skill and diligence go together, expect a masterpiece.

The goal of every educational institution in Jamaica should be to provide students with expertise in skills of their choice. When that is done, students will have the wherewithal to support themselves, resulting in less dependency and criminality in the nation.

Burnett Robinson

blpprob@aol.com