By Damion Mitchell, Staff Reporter
Finance Minister, Dr. Omar Davies (left), in discussion with Robert Gregory, executive director of the HEART Trust/NTA at the launch of the report on the private and social returns of education to investment in tertiary education. The event was held at the Jamaica Pegasus in New Kingston on Wednesday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
THE ISLAND'S education sector, especially the tertiary system, needs an 'enormous' investment, according to a report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The report, dated November 2003 and dubbed the 'Private and Social Returns to Investment in Jamaica', was compiled based on data from the censuses of 1991 and 2001, the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions and the Labour Force Survey.
The report said that individuals who finance their own tertiary education saw returns of 19.5 per cent on their investments in 2002, while Jamaica saw social returns of 12.3 per cent.
In presenting the report at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on Wednesday, Dr. Vanus James, senior policy advisor to the UNDP, said more investment in the tertiary education system would result in greater benefits for the country.
Dr. Omar Davies told The Gleaner after the function that an increase in the education budget from the current $23 billion would be announced on April 15 in the 2004/05 budget. However, he did not provide any details on the percentage allocations for the different educational levels.
According to the report, "An increase of tertiary investment of two per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would cause GDP to grow by 1.6 per cent through 2020."
"There is a lot of inefficiency in the allocation of investment resources in educational activities," Dr. James said.
And while noting that this must be reversed, he said that Jamaica was losing some US$20 million in potential earnings each year because of the number of tertiary professionals who migrate.
At present, the Government of Jamaica funds about 80 per cent of the cost of tertiary education for locals.
The country also earns US$12 million from overseas students who study here measured in jobs, fees, housing and transport, according to the report.
BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS
Recognising that there were budgetary constraints, Dr. James said the financing programmes of the Students' Loan Bureau should play a more pivotal role in the Government's efforts to promote an increased vocational content in tertiary education.
"It is a waste of time to force everyone down the narrow academic track and not enough on the vocational track," he argued.
Education Minister Maxine Henry-Wilson said the report raised questions about whether the 'real purpose' of education was for financial gains or for societal and individual development.
She said that in this context the matter of the allocation of funds in the education system would be essential.
Between 1999 and 2000 the Government subsidy per student stood at US$3,046 at the tertiary institutions; US$533 at the secondary level; and US$153 at the early childhood level.
Mrs Henry-Wilson said that at present there were only incremental increases for the sector, but "If we continue to gain only in increments we will never have the level of access at the tertiary level to give us that quantum leap that we need."
The study was commissioned and financed by the Ministry of Finance, the Students' Loan Bureau, HEART Trust/NTA, the Northern Caribbean University and the University of the West Indies and conducted by the UNDP.
