As was reported by this newspaper yesterday, the University of Technology (UTech) is pursuing an interesting initiative, which we believe is worthy but ought to be part of a wider and deeper rationalisation of tertiary institutions in Jamaica.

The full scope of the project and its specific operational mechanisms have not yet been outlined, but UTech and 13 other tertiary institutions in Jamaica have signed a memo-randum for the creation of a consortium to be known as the University of Jamaica.

On the face of it, what is contemplated is a sort of hub-and-spoke arrangement, with UTech at the centre and the 13 other tertiary-level institutions linked to it and one another, but without losing their individual autonomy.

All would benefit from the transference of ideas and skills - particularly those that are assumed to reside in a full-fledged university like UTech - and the capacity for the seamless movement of students between each unit.

Broader concept

Education Minister Andrew Holness has endorsed the idea, saying that it would help to fulfil the government's objectives in expanding both access to, and the quality of, tertiary education in Jamaica.

That Mr Holness likes the idea is good for UTech and the others; for a state or state-aided institutions, the government's imprimatur is critical to this scheme going forward.

While we are not against the plan and, indeed, see great merit in its broad concept, we would urge Mr Holness to insist that it be seen as part of a fuller concept, with urgent discussion on the most efficient allocation of resources to the tertiary sector.

Indeed, and quite coincidentally, the UTech initiative was made public almost simultaneously with a call by this newspaper for a merger of UTech and the University of the West Indies, but with UTech perhaps remaining as an autonomous institution in the UWI system.

We presumed that once any such move was in train, it would inevitably embrace other tertiary institutions, with many of which both universities already have relationships.

Our idea, in part, was aimed at providing a path for the training of more graduates with engineering and technical skills, who are necessary for the growth and development of the Jamaican economy. Jamaican students, particularly in engineering, are few and far between at the relevant UWI faculties in Trinidad and Tobago.

Getting the right mix

UTech started life training Jamaicans in technical skills, but appears to be losing its way. These days, the largest proportion of its students, nearly a third, are in business administration. A rebalancing at both UTech and UWI - to be achieved, in part, through shifts in the allocation of government subsidies between faculties and institutions - is necessary.

UWI has been allocated 72 per cent of the $10.5 billion the Government will spend on tertiary education this fiscal year, but the ratio moves to 84 per cent when this is restricted to the spending on universities.

The question is not so much whether UWI is getting too much, but whether, in the context of limited resources, the mix is right for the required outcomes, and how do we position a supposedly specialist institution like UTech to better fulfil its mandate.

Why, too, is it necessary to maintain separate bureaucracies at UTech and UWI, and even other institutions, rather than using the money allocated to these for the specific training of students?

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