EDITORIALS - Belt-tightening at Mona

UNDER THE decentralised structure of the University of the West Indies (UWI), the Mona campus relies on the Jamaican Government for over 70 per cent of its budget.

So, it is not surprising that with the Jamaican Government under fiscal stress and forced to reduce subsidies, Mona is being forced to take a cold, hard look at its accounts and to cut costs.

Last week, in the face of a new round of hints that the Government would be further reducing its subsidy to university students, who, on average, currently pay a little over 20 per cent of the economic cost of their education, Professor Gordon Shirley called his staff together to warn that they and the institution will have to tighten their belts.

In the current fiscal year, for instance, the Government's subsidy to Mona, all but a handful of whose students are Jamaican, will be $6.1 billion, or around 13 per cent less than in 2009-2010. Over the last three fiscal years, the cut in the subsidy to the university will be around 20 per cent. And that does not include the effects of inflation.

Among Professor Shirley's demands is that lecturers fulfil 10 contact hours a week with students, thereby reducing the need for part-time lecturers. The saving will be $420 million.

Management deficiencies

We expect that there will be arguments from lecturers about their need to research and/or write, thus making increased contact time problematic. Except, apparently, that the 10 hours is the contractually stipulated contact time for most lecturers, who, generally, deliver half.

This seemingly widespread lack of enforcement of contractual obligations by Mona's academic staff suggests management deficiencies, which must be explained and addressed if a recurrence of the problem is to be avoided.

Of course, we expect that academics will be allowed freedom and latitude, but organisational efficiency is no less a requirement of universities than other institutions, especially those in poor countries with limited resources and burdened taxpayers.

Belt-tightening alone will not address all of Mona's financial issues, but Professor Shirley, we believe, understands the value of running a tight operation.

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