March 2011


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A new light in the south

By Professor Clement Sankat

This is an historic moment for The UWI St. Augustine Campus. For me, as Campus Principal, it is an occasion filled with immense jubilation, anticipation and gratitude; one that marks not only the dedication of lands for the establishment of a South Campus but the realization of a dream! A dream I have had for quite some time and even shared with my colleagues at the first Academic Board meeting I chaired after assuming the office of Campus Principal in January 2008. Very simply, this dream was to extend the Campus beyond the walls of St. Augustine into South Trinidad and to provide more remote communities with increased access to tertiary education, to reach students wherever they may be and give them opportunities for personal advancement.

My dream for students across all communities in Trinidad and Tobago was based on my own experience as a little boy growing up in a small village in Corentyne, in rural Guyana where the only chance for educational and personal development meant that from the tender age of 11, I had to leave my family behind for months and with a heavy heart, travel to the capital city in Georgetown to be able to enter secondary school and hopefully, one day, university. I am sure there are those present from the communities in the South with a similar story.

While this may have been decades ago, in another part of the Caribbean, my firm belief that children, no matter where they live or what their socio-economic background, should have easy access to an education that could change their lives forever, has been a driving force for me as an educator and an administrator at The University of the West Indies.

At The UWI we are committed to reaching out to our students in all countries across the Caribbean and serving the needs of our national and regional stakeholders. We have been achieving this outreach through satellite sites of our resident Campuses, such as the already-established UWI Mona Western Jamaica Campus located in Montego Bay and through the various sites of the Open Campus, particularly in Eastern Caribbean countries and in Belize.

The realization of this vision to establish a South Campus on the outskirts of San Fernando, our second largest city, is but the first step in a process of transformation of Debe, Penal, Siparia, Point Fortin and all the surrounding communities as well. In years to come, we will all be able to see and feel the impact of the transformation that begins today. This ground-breaking ceremony to dedicate these lands will inevitably change the course of history!

This is precisely what happened 50 years ago with the establishment of the St. Augustine Main Campus, which evolved into a central hub of teaching and research, firstly in the field of Agriculture, then in Engineering, Medicine, the Natural and Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, the Arts, Law and a range of other disciplines. The UWI St. Augustine Campus has not only been pivotal to knowledge creation, training and development of the human capital needed to bolster the economic development of Trinidad and Tobago from the 1960s to today, it has served as an impetus for the growth of industries, the establishment of partnerships and the flourishing of communities in its more immediate environs – so much so that the area encompassing St. Augustine, Tunapuna, Curepe, St. Joseph and El Dorado has been branded a ‘University Town’.

Similarly, the establishment of a South Campus is as prophetic as it is pioneering. It will transform lives, educational and business opportunities, particularly for those living in south Trinidad and lay the foundation for a host of new possibilities for the future. Just as the founders of the Campus planted a seed at St. Augustine, 50 years ago, on agricultural lands, so too are we doing today – planting another seed, this time in Penal/Debe; an area also primarily known for its rich agricultural heritage: cocoa, coffee, rice and sugar cane. And we do this with the firm resolve to build a centre of excellence for teaching, graduate studies and research, one that will create opportunities beyond the field of Agriculture, in a range of disciplines beginning with the flagship Faculty of Law.

I am sure you will agree that law, legal obligations and human rights underpin and infiltrate all that we do in society. As we look to the future, law and legal studies will become more and more integrated into all disciplines and so, with our flagship Law Faculty located right here in Penal/Debe, the UWI St. Augustine Campus is establishing an academic and research centre that will be the beacon for the scholarship of law at the undergraduate and postgraduate level in a host of areas – constitutional law, criminal law, civil law, business law, international law and entertainment law, to name a few. We will go beyond producing holders of law degrees, and more importantly, produce UWI graduates whose legal expertise helps to further distinguish them as leaders.

For the very first time, students in Trinidad and Tobago interested in pursuing studies in Law will be able to do all three years of the LLB programme here in Trinidad. I expect that by August 2013, some 450 students will be housed in a beautiful, new Campus right here in Debe – with modern residences, a student union building, recreational facilities, and fully-equipped classrooms to support distance teaching and learning, which will be used by our other Faculties and by the UWI School of Business and Applied Studies Limited, ROYTEC.

Whether it is in the field of Law, Agriculture, Medicine, or any other, there must be a strong focus on creating new knowledge and ensuring its application in society. This will be the key tool for transformation and development of our society. As a University, we must continue to pay attention to the needs of our communities. In the same way that we have nurtured and enriched the communities in St. Augustine and its environs, we will also do so in Penal/Debe and its surrounding communities. Whether it is in sports, culture, the creative and festival arts, through discussions and debates on the contemporary issues, we will engage the community! And the University itself will continue to be a learning organisation – to actively respond to the creative environment of the South. In so doing, we will ensure that the UWI brand of quality and distinction continues to shine in this part of the country.

–This is an edited excerpt of the address given by Pro Vice Chancellor and St. Augustine Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat at a dedication ceremony on February 24, 2011, to mark the handing over of lands by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to The University of the West Indies for the establishment of a south campus.