Is Cave Hill on the decline?

Editor: I ask this question with a heavy heart after a conversation I had with someone who was on campus in my time. She said to me bluntly: “Cave Hill is drying up.”

Unfortunately, this appears to be an accurate observation and a true reflection of reality. Student numbers are dwindling and there has been a concomitant reduction in revenue with which to conduct the business of the university. The phenomenon of falling numbers and revenue is one thing, but more than that is the fact that the campus has also lost its regional integration essence.{{more}}

There was a time when the Cave Hill campus was alive with the sights and sounds of a vibrant Caribbean. It was a hub of regional integration, bursting at its seams with students from all over the West Indies, buzzing with multicultural and inter-island activity, ablaze with the fire of life itself. The campus was a zone of free movement and a veritable microcosm of everything we wanted for Caribbean society. But things are not like that anymore.

It seems as if the university’s contribution to a furtherance of regional integration is not a priority these days. From all appearances, there has been a retreat from the noble and sensible intentions of the university’s founding fathers to

pursue “One Caribbean.” Instead, a policy of fragmentation has been enthroned by the powers that be at the region’s flagship educational institution and our Caribbean Community is all the poorer for it.

I admit that I might be a little sentimental on this issue, being the product of a UWI-union. My parents had six children, all of whom are also graduates of The University of the West Indies. There are many other UWI unions and relationships of one form or another, professional or otherwise. There can be no comprehension of the profoundly positive socio-cultural purpose that was served by this academic institution. But so much has changed.

A seemingly innocuous decision can sometimes have far-reaching implications. Take for instance the narrow-minded decision to establish a law faculty at each campus. As a result, there are now practically no Jamaicans at Cave Hill, to the point where the once vibrant Jamaican Students Asso­ciation has been disbanded. How could this be in the region’s fundamental interest? This was precisely what our forebears sought to avoid when they assigned certain specialties to particular cam­puses – Medicine to Mona; Law to Cave Hill; and Engineering to St Augustine.

The effective withdrawal of Jamaican students from Cave Hill has reduced the diversity on the campus and has greatly diminished the richness of the student experience. This is certainly not in the interest of healthy cultural exchange and ultimately regional integration with all its desirable spin-offs. Moreover, the decision to establish separate law faculties at each campus has also lead to staffing problems. It is a sorry state of affairs when different campuses within the same university are competing for lecturers. But this is precisely what happened. The Jamaicans and Trinidadians who were teaching at Cave Hill returned home to take up more convenient posts in what was an exodus of teaching staff of Mosaic proportions. To fill the void, Cave Hill resorted to recruiting lecturers from places as far away as Eastern Europe and Hong Kong, with sub-optimal results.

The model envisioned by the pioneer leaders of yesteryear is quickly falling apart. Hopefully, something would be done soon to return this flagging symbol of regionalism to its former glory. We should always keep in mind that the integration element is an indispensible component of a UWI education, which should be protected and preserved. We do not pursue integration for its own sake. This is an existential question. Integration is essential for the survival and optimum development of Caribbean society. Integration brings economic benefits, jobs, and all sorts of opportunities. Through integration, the region may gain competitive strengths and advantages and better deal with its problems. That is why we place a premium on integration.

There are other aspects of Cave Hill affairs that deserve comment. I will reserve that for another place and another time. Suffice it to say here that as of this moment, Cave Hill is fast becoming a rundown shadow of its former self, modern edifices notwithstanding.

RT Luke V Browne