SUNDAY 14 JULY 2019 – UWI TODAY
3
This past June, almost 19,000 children
fromthroughout
Trinidad and Tobago received the results of the
Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examinations
that specified the secondary school they will attend for
the next few years. For many of them, mostly preteens,
it was the first real trial of their young lives. The vast
majority, I’m pleased to say, seemed to have overcome
the SEA challenge. While they may not necessarily have
made it to their first choice school, they persevered
through the labor and emotional stress of study and
exams. For that I congratulate them all.
There are some however, who had a much more
difficult time with the exams. “Ministry reports rise
in SEA self-harm cases” a headline in the
Trinidad
Guardian
said. The article states that the Ministry of
Education received a 20 per cent increase in requests
for help for students dealing with mental health issues
because of SEA. A Ministry spokesperson said the
students were “unable to cope with what is going on.”
This state of affairs is upsetting for obvious reasons.
No one wants to see children suffering. But reading this
article, I was dismayed by the irony of a situation in
which our children are not being adequately prepared
for life.
I say this not to minimise the challenge of the SEA
or the valid concerns over the nature and purpose of
secondary school entrance exams. Nor am I making a
critique of any of the players in the education process
– parents, educators and the Ministry. Preparing our
children for life is society’s collective responsibility.
Consequently, as a tertiary institution that serves
thousands upon thousands of young people on the
threshold of adulthood every year, we at The UWI see
ourselves as having a duty to help them become fully
formed citizens, equipped with the tools that enable
them to realise and maximise their material, physical
and emotional well-being, and to lead a moral and
empathic life.
We in the Caribbean have always placed a very
high value on education. And well we should, for a
solid educational foundation is crucial for personal and
national prosperity. But knowledge doesn’t necessarily
equate to happiness, contentment or strength of
character. Indeed, my experience tells me that there
are many who have not found the level of satisfaction
they sought in the careers of their choice. Admittedly,
from colonial times to this day, our formal and informal
educational systems have tried to address the need for
a more holistic education system by including what
we might call “life skills development” through sports,
clubs, humanities studies and exercises of patriotism, for
example. But this does not seem to be enough. These are
all laudable activities. However, there needs to be a more
focused educational objective.
As we have developed, as we have prioritised speed,
efficiency, convenience and comfort, we seem to be
losing our grasp on the intrinsic needs of our people. If
one thinks hard enough about this, one cannot escape the
realisation that the core intrinsic need of every human
being is, and always has been, the need to survive the
gamut of life’s challenges. No matter how much progress
we make, life will always be hard. And though we live
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
PROFESSOR BRIAN COPELAND
Campus Principal
Developing the whole student
– Adopt-a-Student and UWI’s First Year Experience
(FYE) – are highlighted in this issue.
Likewise, this issue introduces Justin Subero, the
new President of The UWI St Augustine Student’s Guild
Council. Student government is a powerful mechanism
for forging young leaders, an absolute necessity for the
well-being and sustainability of our region. We need
young people like Justin and his team who are capable
and willing to take on the responsibility of leadership.
Jordan Reynos, Trinidad and Tobago national
hockey player and UWI student, has shown a different
kind of leadership. In May of this year he was awarded
the prize for the 2019 UWI Vice-Chancellor’s Sportsman
of the Year. In recent years, thanks in no small part to
the vision of Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, UWI has
reestablished its commitment to student sports. The
most visible symbol of this is our Faculty of Sport,
launched in 2017.
Apart from the career opportunities within the sport
industry, and the development of our human resource
of athletes and professionals, sport has inherent value in
building invaluable traits such as teamwork, focus, and
bravery, that will serve students long after they have left
the academic arena.
But truthfully, we never really leave the arena. We
enter new ones. For the young students moving from
primary to secondary school, SEA was only one of many
exams life will require them to sit. They will be tested
in and outside of the classroom. They will be tested in
the home and eventually the workplace. Trinidad and
Tobago is being tested. The Caribbean is facing myriad
challenges. The world itself is embroiled in urgent
struggle. Life itself is the arena.
EDITORIAL TEAM
CAMPUS PRINCIPAL
Professor Brian Copeland
AG. DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
AND COMMUNICATIONS
Wynell Gregorio
AG. EDITOR
Joel Henry
email:
CONTACT US
The UWI Marketing and
Communications Office
Tel: (868) 662-2002, exts. 82013 / 83997
or email:
Discipline, perseverance,
courage, integrity, empathy,
mindfulness, a capacity for
critical thought, creative daring
and communal living – these
are among the assets of a truly
effective person. And such
people are enormous assets to
whatever society they belong.
in a miraculous age of technology and information and
interconnection to help us navigate this difficult world,
the ultimate life tool will always be the innate character of
each citizen. Discipline, perseverance, courage, integrity,
empathy, mindfulness, a capacity for critical thought,
creative daring and communal living – these are among
the assets of a truly effective person. And such people
are enormous assets to whatever society they belong.
At The UWI, one of our core values is “Student
Centredness”. This addresses not just excellence in
academic education but in placing priority on a more
holistic student preparation for life – their life. AS such,
in this issue of
UWI Today
, we look at some of our
student centred activities, beyond teaching and research,
that support their development.
Our Division of Student Services and Development
(DSSD) is the campus’ ultimate student resource. DSSD
provides support services for mental health, financial
aid, career counselling, accommodation, activities and
many more. Two of their outstanding programmes
