Nilio Gumbs pursuing doctorate in Trinidad

The issue of roadside vending in Kingstown will be the subject of a doctoral thesis to be written by Vincentian Nilio Gumbs.{{more}}

Gumbs, who is pursuing a doctorate in social policy at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad told SEARCHLIGHT he chose to look at roadside vending, because he identifies with the poor.

“I fight for the poor because of my Marxist beliefs, which I am unrepentant about,” Gumbs, who is on study leave from the Public Service told SEARCHLIGHT.

He said while working at the Ministry of Education, he helped many children from disadvantaged backgrounds to get into school.

“I made it my personal business one time to get eight Rasta children back in school after their father had them home for eight months. To my surprise, principals did not want to take them back in schools, even though most of them were under the age of 12,” Gumbs said.

The SEARCHLIGHT occasional columnist, who has written articles on a wide range of topics pertaining to economics and development, says his goal is to finish his 60,000 word thesis and doctorate in two years. He will defend his research proposal next August and is required to write three A grade publishable academic papers on the informal economy in St Vincent during that time.

In addition to his studies, while in Trinidad, Gumbs is writing ten chapters in a new social studies textbook for the Caribbean by Pearson Publishing.

Before being transferred to the civil service, Gumbs taught at the Bethel High School and the Carapan Secondary School (now the St Clair Dacon Secondary). He also taught at schools around the region, including in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands and in Montserrat.

Gumbs holds a Bachelor of Science degree in management and a Master of Science degree in economic development, both from the University of the West Indies. He is a former student of the St Vincent Grammar School.