Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

Recognising that Jamaican men are in a crisis with very few advancing to tertiary institutions, some local universities are exploring new strategies to encourage more males to enrol in higher education.

Statistics from the University of the West Indies (UWI) show that some 82 per cent of females matriculated to the institution this academic year.

"One of the things that we are going to be looking at seriously, and it is in very preliminary stages, is to look at the courses that perhaps would be more appealing to the males in Jamaica," Winston Adams, executive chairman and president of the University College of the Carib-bean (UCC), said yesterday.

He was speaking with The Gleaner following the launch of the UCC's Commonwealth Executive Masters Programmes, held at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston.

Takes too long

According to Mr. Adams, there is a feeling among Jamaican males, that education is an investment which takes too long to arrive at a benefit.

"They are looking for quick fixes and education is not going to make you wealthy in the short term," he reasoned.

Mr. Adams noted that there are innovative programmes that can be designed and developed that male students would find more interesting and relevant to their needs, adding that Singapore has been successful in doing so.

Mr. Adams said areas such as information technology could be marketed in a way to encourage more males to enter tertiary institutions.

Study

Meanwhile, Joseph Pereira, deputy principal of the UWI, said his institution has embarked on a study to examine the cause of male underachievement and see how best the problem can be addressed.

The project, he said, began last year and is being undertaken by Professor Barbara Bailey of the Gender Studies Centre on the campus.

"We are concerned (about the low levels of males that are matriculating to universities). We know that the problem is wider than recruiting," Mr. Pereira told The Gleaner yesterday.

Mr. Pereira said the UWI administration visits schools each year and encourages students, especially boys at the third- and sixth-form levels to apply to the institution.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com