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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
PANAMA CITY, Panama -- Dr. Rodney D. Smith, President of the College of The
Bahamas (COB), was among the Presidents of institutions of higher learning who participated
in the first-ever Forum of University Presidents of the Americas at the VII
Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama.
Dr. Smith was one of the first speakers at the Forum, which attracted 450
University Presidents from North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.
He was invited to participate in the forum by the Government of the Republic of
Panama, and he made his presentation as a member of a panel of Presidents
consisting of the University of Panama, University of Havana, College of The
Bahamas, Georgetown University and the University of Mexico. Dr. Smith’s remarks are below.
During the second day of the Summit, President Smith, on behalf of COB, also
signed an OAS Cooperative Agreement, opening the door for students and faculty
at the COB to engage in study and teaching opportunities at other colleges and
universities within other OAS countries.
This is a reciprocal relationship that will allow others from OAS
countries to study and teach at COB as well.
Among those witnessing the signing were Prime Minister Perry G. Christie; Fred
Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Bernard Nottage, Minister of National
Security; Dr. Perry Gomez, Minister of Heath; Shane Gibson, Minister of Labour;
Dr. Elliston Rahming, Bahamas Ambassador to the United Nations and the OAS; and
Dr. Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States. Signing on behalf of
the OAS was Marie Levans of the OAS Department of Human Development, Education
and Culture.
In his remarks at the Forum, Dr. Smith noted that COB is currently transition
to become the University of The Bahamas and it is “our hope that the University
of The Bahamas will grow to be one of the key driving forces behind development
in our country and the region.”
“Currently, the College has partnered with the Government of The Bahamas in
securing a Transition Project loan through the Caribbean Development Bank,” Dr.
Smith said. “Faculty members at the College have partnered with the Government
in creating a national development plan.
This plan will help to guide the expansion of academic programming at
the new University of The Bahamas. In
addition, we have established a Government and Public Policy Institute that
promises to become a vital resource for the Caribbean and surrounding regions. I
mention these for several reasons.
First, because this is the first national development plan the country
is undertaking. Second, because the new
University will utilize the Institute to help in the implementation of the plan
by producing annual National Key Performance Indicators. Finally, via the Institute, respective
Government Ministries will be encouraged to maintain R&D line items for
research and innovation.”
Dr. Smith said, however, that there are some realities that cannot be ignored,
adding that unlike most countries in the Caribbean region, The Bahamas is an
archipelagic state.
“The country consists of 700 islands and 2,400 cays within an area of 5,358 sq.
miles,” Dr. Smith said. “There are just over 365,000 Bahamians spread across 30
inhabited islands. The majority of the population, however, roughly 70 percent,
have migrated to and live on the island of New Providence in the capital city
of Nassau. This island’s land mass is
only 80 square miles. Needless to say,
this island is plagued with the same challenges of any major industrialized
city, including migration from other Caribbean countries.”
Dr. Smith stressed that this geophysical archipelagic environment “proves to be
a major challenge, as we work towards developing and servicing the needs of the
country.”
“In addition to being faced with having to duplicate infrastructure on varying
scales on all these islands, we find that the entire country tends to be ranked
internationally as if each of the islands were economically the same,” the COB
President said. “With about 6 million tourists visiting the country each year,
foreign investments in the country rather than average family income, tends to
skew per capita income for the country; and thus its ranking as a high income
country.”
Dr. Smith pointed out that this creates “a disadvantage when it comes to
seeking financial assistance through development grants and other sources of
funding that could greatly improve the standard of living throughout the
country, including access to higher education.”
“Our best option for improving the standard of living for all inhabitants of
the country is to increase access to higher education while attracting back to
the country those who have been educated abroad,” Dr. Smith said. “The
establishment of the University of The Bahamas as a vibrant and sustainable
institution dedicated to teaching, research and service is that best option.”
Continuing, he added: “However, it will require that international development
agencies undertake the task of studying and redefining development
characteristics of archipelagic nations.
In our global society today, we respect and accept cultural differences;
yet we neglect the fact that countries ranked similarly do not have the same
economic and geophysical characteristics.
For instance, just one of the 30 inhabited islands in The Bahamas has
the same land mass as the entire island nation of Trinidad. Friends, it is an injustice to rank a country
that has to multiply its infrastructures continuously in order to meet the
needs of its citizens with countries that need do so one time only. With 28 airports, duplication of government
and other services 30 times over, the Bahamas cannot afford the luxury of being
treated as just another country.”
Dr. Smith suggested that in order “to grow a University that will be
sustainable, we will need significant support and funding assistance from
regional and international institutions and agencies.”
“In particular, we will need assistance by way of expertise from established institutions
of higher education, like those being represented at this Presidents Forum,”
the COB President said. “We will need
your support in helping others to appreciate our differences.”
Dr. Smith said that The Bahamas, as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, is
also a very young nation, having achieved majority rule in the late 60’s
followed by independence in 1974.
“The country’s national higher education institution, the College of The
Bahamas, began in 1974 when three separate institutions were combined: the
country’s technical training institute, the teacher’s training college and the
advanced level of the one government high school,” he said. “For many years,
thereafter, as the country experienced vast increases in access to education at
the secondary level, the College itself functioned mostly as a junior college
offering only the associates degree. Despite this, the College has been
credited with significantly advancing the country’s intellectual capacity with
graduates throughout all sectors in leadership positions. In 1977, all of our graduates were earning
either certificates, diplomas or associate degrees. However, by 2013 our graduates were
primarily baccalaureate degree earners, representing 65% percent of the
Commencement class, while graduates from our master’s degree programmes
represented three percent. With the establishment of The University of The
Bahamas we will offer more graduate and professional degree programmes. In
addition, we now have a new school dedicated to agriculture and marine
sciences, the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Sciences Institute (BAMSI), which
will help to grow and better develop our agricultural sector.
Continuing, he added: “Despite these and other advancements, we continue to
face challenges that impact the growth of several sectors throughout the
country. Right now we suffer from a
dearth of knowledge and expertise in several areas. The maritime sector, for
example, is one of them. Despite being surrounded by the sea, we are severely
unaware of the rich resources it creates.
The University of The Bahamas plans to open a maritime school as a part
of the University System to address the need to educate and provide expertise
to protect these natural resources.
“Tied to a skills shortage in The Bahamas, is brain drain, which is replicated
throughout the region. Many of our brightest citizens, when educated abroad,
choose to stay due to greater job opportunities. With greater development in
the region we must begin to attract, or rather re-attract, talent and
expertise.”
Dr. Smith said that in order to create “a sustainable University, we believe
that the University’s strategic plan must be implemented with separate but
well-coordinated integrated strategic plans for each extension facility on
separate islands along with a well-developed online degree environment.”
“We must think outside the box in efforts to address national educational needs
across our archipelagic nation,” he suggested. “Gone are the days when we
should focus on delivering duplicates of the same academic programme on several
islands. It is time to develop Colleges
with specialties on respective islands; while extending the outreach of
academic degree programming via the online environment to all the islands of
The Bahamas and abroad.”
Continuing, he said: “For cohesive, but diverse higher education that will have
a strong impact on development in the region, we must begin to partner with
each other. While we each want our institution to be the institution of first
choice for our national students, we must extend our borders and welcome study
abroad and student exchange opportunities with each other.
Tomorrow,
representing the College of The Bahamas, I will be signing a cooperative
agreement with the Organization of American States. We are excited about receiving your faculty
and students as we seek to send faculty and students to other OAS member
institutions.”
Dr. Smith pointed out that this “diversity will strengthen higher education in
the region and it will drive innovation specific to the development of island
nations with differing challenges.”
“It is important to drive home the point that more educated people at the
tertiary level in our countries, will help to improve innovation and
development in the entire region,” the COB President said. “We simply cannot
measure the impact greater education, greater knowledge will have. If one first
generation student receives a degree that degree has the potential of changing
the life of that individual, his family and his workplace – imagine the impact
of thousands of degrees.”
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com
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