NCU head requests urgent help for tertiary students severely affected by Melissa

Professor Lincoln Edwards, president of Northern Caribbean University (NCU), is urging the Government to prioritise assistance for tertiary students following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.

The World Bank estimates that the Category 5 hurricane, which struck on October 28, caused US$8.8 billion in physical damage, which is equivalent to 41 per cent of Jamaica’s 2024 GDP. This figure excludes economic losses.

Forty-five people were killed, an estimated 900,000 Jamaicans were affected, and roughly 150,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed when Melissa made landfall in New Hope, Westmoreland, and moved northwards to exit near Falmouth, Trelawny.

As the country works to rebuild its economy while helping affected citizens recover, Edwards told The Gleaner on Thursday that Jamaica cannot afford disruptions to tertiary education.

“So I would call upon the Government to provide vouchers to every student who is enrolled in tertiary education, regardless of where they go to school because we shouldn’t discriminate against Jamaicans. So whether they go to NCU or UWI (The University of the West Indies), wherever they were impacted, they are going to need support,” he said.

“So provide them with a voucher because it is cheaper to do that than to allow them to stop the process of going to school and be incorporated into some scheme that they are told will help them to get rich quick. I mean, that is not the way to go, so let’s just prevent that early by providing them with the voucher so that they can continue the learning process. ... And some will need help with rent and they can assess them,” the NCU president added.

Professor Edwards stressed that tertiary-level training will be essential to national recovery.

ESSENTIAL TO RECOVERY

“They are the ones who will graduate and drive the economic recovery, so we cannot take a chance with that. So this is an investment that I really feel strongly that the Government must make. And I say that against the background that during COVID-19, when many sectors were assisted, entertainment and other sectors, private education did not receive any assistance from the Government, and I question why.

“The greater number of students in tertiary are in private institutions, not public, so why would you disadvantage those persons when you have an economic agenda that requires their skill? It defies me.”

The head of the Seventh-day Adventist Church-owned institution also urged the Government to give churches a greater role in distributing aid.

“I’ve always said to the Government, if you put much of this in hands of the churches – not just the Adventist church, but the other churches as well – because the churches were there before Melissa, they will be there after Melissa. They bury the people, they marry the people, they know the communities and then they have a moral obligation to do the right thing, so that’s a big incentive, too. So if you hold them accountable, but provide the resources, I think this thing would go very, very fast. I’ve always said it: the churches in Jamaica have been underutilised when it comes to national emergencies like these.”

NCU, which resumed face-to-face and online classes on November 10, has launched a project to raise US$200,000 to repurpose buildings on its campus to provide temporary housing for students whose homes were destroyed. The university also sustained damage, including the loss of roofing and the destruction of iconic landmarks such as the ‘Steps to Christ’ and a large shading tree known as ‘The Seat of the Scornful’, a popular spot where students often gather for fellowship and study.

karen.madden@gleanerjm.com