Coordinator of the University of Technology’s (UTech) western Jamaica campus, Sophia McIntosh is expressing concern over what she says is a low level of enrolment locally at the tertiary level.

McIntosh was speaking at the official launch of the Courts City Run, dubbed the “Return of the Great Run 2023”, at the Holiday Inn Resort on Tuesday. The run was conceptualised by journalist and philanthropist Janet Silvera 10 years ago, and returns in Montego Bay on Sunday, May 7, after a three-year break.

“I want to implore all of us in this room to encourage our young people to get a tertiary education, as that is what the Government is building its foundation on for development. You cannot have a society that is not educated, and you cannot be developed if there is no education. But we live in a country where less than 30 per cent of our population is enrolled in higher education, and that is cause for concern,” said McIntosh.

McIntosh further bemoaned the challenge of convincing students of the importance of higher learning.

“As an educator, I have had, and continue to have, conversations with students, and there are other competing things that they see as more important than higher education. I want to say to young people that the ‘quickness’ of getting things, the quick cash, is not sustainable, and the country needs people who can come up with solutions for problems. Plus, if you look at First-World countries, the importance is on education and knowledge,” she added

Over the last decade, MoBay City Run has funded scholarships and education grants, amounting to $23.5 million, for a number of tertiary-level students.