I am appreciative to Professor Stephen Vasciannie for his comments (published in the Sunday Observer on December 31, 2023) on my remarks made at a ceremony held to name The University of the West Indies’ (UWI), Mona campus, administrative building for former Principal Sir Kenneth Hall, especially because they give me an opportunity to clarify aspects of my views expressed on what I consider to be an important subject.

Thankfully, Professor Vasciannie excludes me from the group of what he describes as “right wing” critics seeking to decry The UWI’s contribution to Jamaican and Caribbean Development.

I am happy for this because, to the contrary, the essential point I sought to make is that The UWI has been “an essential institutional underpinning of Caribbean nationhood” emerging as it did from the social upheavals of the immediate pre and post-war years. Those were simpler times, however; new states were faced with a generally supportive environment of global growth, positive investment flows, and an accommodating international system. Accordingly, The UWI at its inception functioned on the basis of a relatively uncomplicated social contract with the Caribbean people — it provided training for the professionals needed to run the new Caribbean states at low cost.

Today’s world is different and the challenges faced by Caribbean states and society are much more complicated. As a consequence, I suggested that we collectively re-examine the nature of the social contract between The UWI and the society on account of the significant changes to the social, economic and political environment, which taken together constitute an enormous and some would say existential threat to contemporary Caribbean states.

Moreover, as I pointed out, much in this new environment is directly challenging to The UWI’s erstwhile position as the premier and at times exclusive tertiary degree-granting institution in the region. It appears, though, that Professor Vasciannie believes that my comments regarding the limited availability of policy focused research from The UWI was wrong and went on to cite numerous instances of research which had some policy relevance over the years.

Let me hasten to state the obvious, namely that there was no suggestion that throughout its history no research had ever been done which had implications for policy. Equally, the point must be made that, in the context of making brief remarks at a renaming ceremony, it was not possible to explore the issue at hand, except in the most limited terms.

Essentially, the point I was alluding to was that during my ministerial tenure there was no relevant policy advice concerning any of the fundamental policy issues arising in the portfolios. The one exception really was in the health sector. Otherwise, as in the case of national security, there was no available research focusing, for example, on the main determinants underlying the steady rise of violent crime since Independence; or on the various and diverse elements conducive to a national solution to the problem. Similarly, there was no available research in the late 1990s, for example, on the economics of public transport systems in Jamaica, whether in urban or rural communities, nor on the social costs and benefits associated with it. I could go on.

The point is not to imply a deficiency on the part of members of the university faculty. Rather, it reflects an institutional issue and a possible dilemma which needs resolution. It has been the case in many countries that, over the years, as society has become more complex and the challenges more profound, universities have reorganised themselves to respond to these. In some instances, universities have shifted their emphasis away from simple undergraduate teaching and have become more research-focused.

On another level, in relation to the social sciences, universities such as Harvard and Princeton in the United Sates have developed policy-centred institutions, like the Kennedy School of Government or the Woodrow Wilson School, to grapple with the current issues of policy and policymaking that arise in contemporary society. The question I would pose, in the context of the overarching review of The UWI’s role that I am suggesting, is whether there is need for such a policy-focused research institution at The UWI.

There are other issues too. Should there be a new approach to sponsored research, especially with regard to possible private sector sponsors who could help us modernise our production systems and assist in creating a high wage model for future economic growth?

Simply put, we appear to have outgrown the current arrangement.

Peter D Phillips is former president of the People’s National Party and Opposition leader.