Stephen Vasciannie AT THE last graduation exercises at the University of the West Indies(UWI), Mona, honorary graduand Barbara Gloudon, on receiving her doctorate, raised the important question "How much is a degree worth?" With much style, the new doctor circumnavigated the answer to her rhetorical query, and left the final response to each recipient of her stimulating presentation.
You would not be Columbus, Combolo or Come-bruck-us, if you concluded that we cannot really place a value on a degree - though, of course, our American cousins have in some instances calculated the short-term financial benefits accruing to a medical doctor to the nearest dollar, rounded off upwards, to be sure.
At some stage in Dr. Glou-don's voyage, I found myself wondering "How much is a speech worth?" This one was of much value because it provoked us - and I recalled this was not the first time that a Gloudon speech would have done that to me. She spoke, if memory serves correctly, at one of my high school prize-giving exercises just the other day (i.e. a little over 20 years ago).
On that occasion, her main points were that book learning wasn't everything, and that the importance of a school turns not on the production of intellectual stars, but on bringing the vast majority up to a good level of education.
The latter point - namely the significance of bringing the vast majority up to speed - is increasingly valuable; for, as is now clear, various schools at the secondary level are floundering amidst problems, spurious rationalisations, and deep difficulties inherited from primary and pre-primary foundations. It cannot be that a speech is worth the attention we give to it in practice; but, with reference Mrs. Gloudon's speech at North Street in the late 1970s, some speeches are worth far more than the applause offered in the presence of the speechmaker.
DR SIR HOWARD
Sometimes speechmakers are confined by their circumstances. On the day before Dr Gloudon's speech at Mona, the Governor-General, Dr Sir Howard "They Call me Teacher" Cooke, of Mico College fame, pronounced, inter alia, upon changes in education he had witnessed in modern Jamaica. Sir Howard, qua Governor-General, could not very well have openly taken a position with respect to controversial educational policy issues now before the country. And yet, one had the distinct impression that Sir Howard, qua former Minister of Education, had come to the doctoral wicket ready to play strokes on behalf of the University of the West Indies.
Sir Howard, in the course of a comprehensive presentation, recalled that in earlier years access to tertiary level education was limited to the privileged few: the handful who, by dint of parental finances or sheer academic brilliance and determination, were able to proceed to university. Against this background, Sir Howard maintained that the widening of access to thousands was a signal achievement -- and he offered no small credit to the UWI for bringing this about.
The widening of access to Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals to tertiary education via the University of the West Indies is now established beyond conjecture. At a time, however, when pronounced financial constraints, and other factors, could limit the State's contribution to UWI, it is significant that the Governor-General chose to catalogue the many areas in which the UWI has worked to the benefit of Caribbean society.
Moreover, the Governor-Ge-neral was keen to be analytical in his approach to the UWI. So, in addition to singing praises for developments in medicine, the pure and applied sciences, public administration, the humanities and so forth, Dr Sir Howard paused to mention the insufficiently studied phenomenon of left-wing radicalism at Mona in the 1970s.
Sir Howard, who could not have reasonably been placed within the "forward to full socialism wing" of the PNP in the late 1970s, suggested a sympathetic reading of that period. For the Governor-General, the radicalism evident in that period from Mona and elsewhere was essentially a sign of the impatience of young Caribbean patriots for change in societies characterised by class prejudices and economic disparities. This interpretation - "we watched you going red with impatience", a phrase I have twisted from Mervyn Morris - is probably only a part of the picture. But, coming as it does from the Head of State, it needs to be considered by today's social analysts, regardless of political complexion.
So, how much is a speech worth? The Governor-General has signified his loyalty to the University of the West Indies in a way that may help to keep away those who routinely argue, through various devices, for a reduction in funds to our main university.
UNIVERSITY SPEAKERS
From time to time, members of the UWI are asked to make presentations beyond the walls of academia, and this practice raises, in a peculiar sense, the question of how much a speech may be worth. Assume, for a mo-ment, that a given lecturer is very career-oriented. That lecturer will soon learn that upward mobility in the academy is said to be a function of research and publications, teaching and public service. The first two categories are broadly self-explanatory, but what, in the present context, will pass as public service?
Or, more specifically, how much is a speech worth on the scale of public service? In theory, a speech from a lecturer demonstrates the desire of the speechmaker to be engaged in the national debate on issues, and the willingness to expose her or his thoughts to an audience beyond the narrow covers of academic journals. So, the speech will not have a zero-rating; beyond that, however, who can be sure of the value to be placed on such activity?
When invited to make public speeches, some lecturers may ask for fees. This approach will meet stony silence from high schools, service clubs, and other groups that are likely to issue invitations. It reflects a capitalistic outlook - the paid lecture circuit that has not (yet) been transmitted to the local culture. Others, when invited, will accept only if the media will be on hand. And still others will maintain, fairly, that they have reached the limit for the year, they are all "speeched out".
How much is a speech worth? Nothing, if people don't listen, and something if it influences at least a few members of your audience. If it prompts action, and safeguards the long-term interest of the country, then, ah!, it is a pearl of great price.
Stephen Vasciannie is Professor of International Law and Head of the Department of Government, UWI, Mona. He is also a consultant in the Attorney-General's Chambers.
