Mark Beckford, Gleaner Writer
TONY SEWELL
One day about three years ago, while walking on the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus, Dr. Tony Sewell saw that the campus was sorely underutilised during the summer. Coupled with that was his burning concern that many boys, both in Jamaica and his native United Kingdom (U.K.), were underperforming and being outperformed by their female counterparts.
"There is a real crisis facing our boys. Our boys are bright but they are finding it difficult in controlling their energies," said Mr. Sewell.
He also reflected on the fact that females have a 75 per cent stake in enrolment at the UWI; he decided that something had to be done about it, at least if not now, for the future.
ADDRESSING CRISIS
The Generating Genius programme was conceptualised out of this concern and a year after its inception it has grown to have a Jamaican component. "This programme was set up to address the crisis, by starting with boys who are really young, and giving them a longitudinal pathway to university," he said.
Last year, the programme hosted 10 boys from the U.K. and 10 boys from Jamaica. This year, with the sponsorship of the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS), Cable and Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ), SuperClubs and Garmack
Car Rental, 30 boys from various schools and background in Jamaica are participating in the programme.
The two-week programme, which is at the
UWI Mona campus, sees the boys participating in robotics and biotechnology. The programme, which ends on July 23, also sees the boys participating in leadership sessions, as well as learning to live with other boys on campus at the Rex Nettleford Hall. Dr. Sewell said that the boys are treated as university students, and this is done to mould their personalities.
SCIENTIFIC FOCUS
Mr. Sewell, just like his young pupils, is very enthused about the scientific focus of the programme. "The reason for science is that we as a nation are lagging behind in that area, and as the world moves ahead we are still behind. Therefore, to get young boys really interested in science, there is no reason why Jamaica itself couldn't become a research science centre itself," he said.
Mr. Sewell, however, said that to make this a reality, more private sector sponsors and the Government would have to come on board so that this five-year programme could be renewed every year with a new batch of students. He said: "We would like this for more than five years, and the private sector must now get behind programmes like these because in the end we are growing the future of Jamaica."
