Cooper

According to the latest figures on the website of the University Council of Jamaica, there are 48 "registered institutions and training units" doing business in the country. Two other institutions are "candidates for registration." So we'll soon have a grand total of 50 registered "universities".

This does not include the miscellaneous offshore and on-line universities that are offering programmes in Jamaica but simply haven't bothered to register. Recently, a wicked caller on a talk show mischievously observed that we now have more universities than basic schools.

Not every institution registered with the council claims the weighty name of 'university'. Most are colleges or institutes. And this is as it should be. The primary mark of distinction of a university is that it maintains a vibrant graduate-research programme. By contrast, a college specialises in undergraduate education. One of the institutions registered by the council is a 'university college,' described on its own website as "[e]ffectively a hybrid of some of the functions of a university and a traditional college".

MONGREL PARTY

So we have 'university fi stone dog,' of all breeds and varieties. This biting saying denotes an excess of riches that results in wasteful behaviour, such as throwing valuable resources - instead of cheap stones - at dogs. Universities are now in such plentiful supply that we can afford to treat them lightly. Quantity is one thing. But what about quality?

Talking of dogs, let me make it absolutely clear that I am not suggesting that either the administrators or the students of 'dem whole heap a university' are to be thought of as dogs. I vividly remember the trouble Edward Seaga got into for branding the People's National Party (PNP) a 'mongrel party.' He may even have lost the general election by speaking thus out of the abundance of his heart. Seaga seemed to be saying that Patterson and, by extension, all black Jamaicans were dogs. Some voters took offence at the perceived insult and acted accordingly.

Not even Seaga tried to justify his slip of the lip. Against all reason, it was the venerable Wilmot Perkins who took up the cause and foolishly attempted to defend the indefensible. He vainly argued that 'mongrel' didn't really mean 'dog,' even though the very first definition of the word in the Oxford English Dictionary is "dog of no definable breed".

Mutty, who certainly would not think of himself as a mutt, stubbornly insisted that 'mongrel' merely meant "mixed breed." But since the Manleys, with whose leadership Seaga was contrasting Patterson's, could much more appro-priately be described as "mixed breed" than PJ, Mutty had quite a time wiggling his way in and out of that kennel of mongrels.

So I'm quite conscious of the pitfalls of using the term 'dog' in public discourse in Jamaica. To call someone a 'dog,' much more a 'mongrel,' is a clear term of insult. But it seems to me that in this instance, the metaphor 'gone to the dogs' aptly describes the devaluation of tertiary education in Jamaica all across the board.

STRUGGLING INSTITUTIONS

The word 'university' comes from Latin through French into English and means basically the same as 'universe.' It is made up of two Latin words: 'unus', meaning 'one', and 'versus' meaning 'turn.' Universities were originally conceived as scholarly communities of teachers and students turned to serious intellectual enquiry.

These days, universities are big business. Production and transmission of knowledge are secondary matters. In an age of certification, many students simply want a piece of paper that they think will entitle them to a 'good' job. They are not particularly interested in learning. Clever administrators know they can make money from selling worthless bits of paper. So everybody is happy.

At the recent launch of Hydel University College, Prime Minister Golding made a surprising declaration: the government intends to establish a university park in Caymanas that will enable struggling institutions to pool resources for survival. This seems to be nothing short of an endorsement of mediocrity. Why keep weak institutions on life-support, wasting resources that ought to be wisely invested in proper universities or, even more sensibly, in basic schools?

MARCUS GARVEY CHAIR

Our prime minister knows better. He's a graduate of a 'real-real' university with a distinguished track record. For several decades, the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) enjoyed a monopoly on tertiary education in Jamaica. Monopolies breed complacency; competition raises the stakes. Despite the many challenges posed by the free market, the UWI does retain its premier position as a standard-bearer of academic excellence in a landscape littered with 'university fi stone dog.'

Hyacinth Bennett is, undoubtedly, quite an entrepreneur. At the rate she's going, all she needs to do is to set up a funeral home to take her students from the cradle to the grave. But enterprise must be tempered by common-sense. This year, she has started Hydel University College; and next year, she'll launch into graduate programmes?

Hydel is also establishing a chair in Marcus Garvey studies. A university chair is not a piece of furniture. It is an honour conferred on a professor with a distinguished record of scholarly publications. To the best of my knowledge, the candidate who has been named to occupy the Hydel chair does not fit this high profile. If he could, Marcus Garvey would object. He was a bona fide intellectual who put a high premium on academic excellence.

Carolyn Cooper is professor of literary and cultural studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona. Send feedback to: karokupa@gmail.com or columns@gleanerjm.com.