Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

PACKER

Concerned that there is a gender imbalance at The Mico University College, Dr. Claude Packer, principal, says the institution will this year be making a concerted effort to attract more men.

The female to male ratio at Mico currently stands at four to one.

According to Dr. Packer, Mico University College is offering limited numbers of scholarships for qualified male applicants on condition that they teach for at least two years.

He noted that the office has been flooded with calls since the advertisement was placed in the local newspapers.

Dr. Packer said men can make a huge difference in the classroom.

"And this is why we have to make a change because a woman cannot talk to a boy man-to-man in a school setting. Only a man can do that, so men are important," Dr. Packer told The Gleaner this week.

He noted that some men are turned off education because it is a process that takes time.

All men need opportunity

"Today, men believe in earning fast money and that's the problem that we have because of the whole business of the drug culture that we are buried in," he said.

"But we have to find ways of motivating them and be role models," he added. "And to assure them that, with a good education, they are not only making money, but they can look back to say they have made a difference in people's lives."

Dr. Packer, who said at age eight he could not read and that he did not attend high school, believes all men need an opportunity.

"There are several poor boys across Jamaica who need a chance and need a special teacher who can make a difference in their lives,'' he argued.

The Mico University College is not the first institution in Jamaica to find ways of attracting more men.

The University of the West Indies, Mona, last year announced plans to attract more men to the institution after the revelation that only 18 per cent of men were studying at the facility.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com