Jamaica Education Investment, Leakage and Brain Drain
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐ณ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ด๐ฌ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ (๐จ๐ช๐), ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐. ๐ฆ๐ผ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐
๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐. ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ณ ๐๐๐๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ด๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐.
Everyone seems to forget but let me remind you. Jamaica is a developing third world country that is heavily in debt, with poor and anemic growth yearly but we can do better. I know the constant nightly merriment, fancy gated communities, bright lights and over the top high-end transportation might give the impression that we are a rich country but we are not, we just love to act rich.
Let us also not fool ourselves because from birth, Jamaicans have been engineered to migrate. We are as conditioned to migrate like the salmon is conditioned to swim upstream to lay eggs. I think we are genetically predisposed to it. So, the people who are highly trained, who are supposed to have the Innovation and Imagination to lead us to the promise land, packed up their milo boxes to wonder the planet looking for their promise land.
In 2012 the total public tax payer expenditure budget for education was JA$72 Billion. Private investment contributed another 25% to make a grand total of about JA$90 Billion. Jamaica produces about 15,000 tertiary graduates per year at JA$51.75 Billion. Of the 15,000 tertiary graduates Jamaica loses 80% or 12,000, at a cost of JA$41 Billion to migration. The 80% tertiary graduates we export, represents a loss of human capital needed to operate in this globally competitive 21st century. They are supposed to have the imagination and innovation needed for nation building.
I firmly believe that as a country we need to do more to encourage our Tertiary graduates to stay in this country and apply that higher learning to the Nation Building cause. The problem is the Government is NOT engaging these young people the right way. Take for example the Agricultural school, I would like to see some graduates from that school given the resources to start their own farms, given land and easy access to loans. I would like to see them given the opportunity to apply what they learned, into practical implementation. They are supposed to be a different breed of farmers. 21 Century farmers, not glorified farm hands.
I would also like to see the same thing done with most of our Tertiary graduates. Instead of looking for work they need to be given the chance to become entrepreneurs, business owners and job creators. But when you are engineered to migrate it does not take much for you to turn your backs. I think we have enough waste in the system to finance their mutually beneficial development.
Everyone seems to forget but let me remind you. Jamaica is a developing third world country that is heavily in debt, with poor and anemic growth yearly but we can do better. I know the constant nightly merriment, fancy gated communities, bright lights and over the top high-end transportation might give the impression that we are a rich country but we are not, we just love to act rich.
Let us also not fool ourselves because from birth, Jamaicans have been engineered to migrate. We are as conditioned to migrate like the salmon is conditioned to swim upstream to lay eggs. I think we are genetically predisposed to it. So, the people who are highly trained, who are supposed to have the Innovation and Imagination to lead us to the promise land, packed up their milo boxes to wonder the planet looking for their promise land.
In 2012 the total public tax payer expenditure budget for education was JA$72 Billion. Private investment contributed another 25% to make a grand total of about JA$90 Billion. Jamaica produces about 15,000 tertiary graduates per year at JA$51.75 Billion. Of the 15,000 tertiary graduates Jamaica loses 80% or 12,000, at a cost of JA$41 Billion to migration. The 80% tertiary graduates we export, represents a loss of human capital needed to operate in this globally competitive 21st century. They are supposed to have the imagination and innovation needed for nation building.
I firmly believe that as a country we need to do more to encourage our Tertiary graduates to stay in this country and apply that higher learning to the Nation Building cause. The problem is the Government is NOT engaging these young people the right way. Take for example the Agricultural school, I would like to see some graduates from that school given the resources to start their own farms, given land and easy access to loans. I would like to see them given the opportunity to apply what they learned, into practical implementation. They are supposed to be a different breed of farmers. 21 Century farmers, not glorified farm hands.
I would also like to see the same thing done with most of our Tertiary graduates. Instead of looking for work they need to be given the chance to become entrepreneurs, business owners and job creators. But when you are engineered to migrate it does not take much for you to turn your backs. I think we have enough waste in the system to finance their mutually beneficial development.
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