Cabinet has considered and approved the expanded staff structure consisting of 832 additional posts that were identified in the post audit conducted by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service for the University of Technology, Jamaica (Utech, Ja.).
In a Ministerial Statement to the House of Representatives on Tuesday (July 25), Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, added that Cabinet also approved the current operational pay plan that is being utilised by Utech, Ja., consequent on its increased responsibilities and programme offerings since it was conferred with university status in 1995.
“I know, as well, that Utech, Ja. is in talks with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service regarding the compensation review, the University being 100 per cent government-owned,” Mrs. Williams noted.
The Minister said she is extremely delighted that the Government has taken the steps necessary to regularise the staff structure, giving confidence and certainty to a situation that has been allowed to meander since 1995.
“There is still more work to be done but this Government is committed to ensuring expanded access to tertiary education for our students,” the Minister said.
On September 1, 1995, the then College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST), was conferred with university status and renamed the University of Technology, Jamaica. The University of Technology, Jamaica Act was subsequently approved by Parliament on June 8, 1999 and signed by the then Governor General on June 29, 1999.
“As a result of its new university status, the UTech, Ja. Act, requirements of the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ), and requests made by the Government of Jamaica, Utech, Ja. made several upgrades to its programmes and structure, consistent with its mandate to support national development through the provision of first-rate higher education,” the Minister informed.
She further disclosed that adjustments in the staff structure would have also been the result of UTech, Ja’s response to the requests of the Government of Jamaica at various times to develop and or implement programmes needed to support national imperatives.
“This includes the request made in 1999 and supported by Cabinet Decision No. 91/99 dated March 15, 1999 that mandated that the general training of health professionals be transferred from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Education, with the management and implementation of the training programme to be undertaken by Utech, Ja. Subsequent to this decision in 2008, the training programme for Registered Nurses was also transferred to UTech, Ja. by virtue of Licence and Transfer Agreement,” she said.
Mrs. Williams also noted that in 2014, further to the 2008 decision, the Ministry of Health transferred the remaining training programme for Midwifery (direct entry and post basic) and Critical Care and Nurse Anaesthetist programmes granting UTech, Ja. full responsibility for the training programmes.
She added that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) underpinned this agreement between the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW), Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY), and UTech, Ja.
“The MOU clearly outlined that Utech, Ja. was being asked to complete the training of existing students who were already being trained by the MOHW and to engage new cohorts to prevent a gap in the supply of nurses to the workforce,” the Minister said.
“In addition, the University would have responded to requests to support the training of dentists by taking responsibility for the Government of Jamaica’s Dentistry and Dental Auxiliary programme and Public Health workers, by taking responsibility for the West Indies School of Public Health,” she added.
In both instances, Mrs. Williams said UTech, Ja. was not only asked to take responsibility for the programmes but to expand them to increase the number of persons available for deployment to the health sector.
She said UTech, Ja. has distinguished itself as a dynamic higher-education institution, consistently playing its part in ensuring that the higher-education landscape in Jamaica is able to respond to emerging needs in the labour market.
“While the University would have expanded into some non-technology areas over time, significant strides have been made in developing and implementing programmes designed to ensure that the workforce is ready to access and capitalise on new and growing industries in the job market,” the Minister noted.
Meanwhile, she said the Ministry engaged in a process of reviewing international and local standards as well as guidelines and international trends relating to teacher/student ratios for higher education in order to evaluate the adequacy of the staff employed to the various faculties and programmes.
She informed that the process identified that the University offered 117 programmes across nine faculties; on average 12,421 students were registered in the 117 programmes; 909 staff served the nine faculties, with approximately 500 academic staff facilitating the delivery of the University’s programmes; the average ratio of academic staff to students across the University was 1:26; and an additional 505 staff members were employed to serve departments critical to the effective administration of the institution.
The Minister said having taken the data gathered into consideration, the Ministry considered that the staff complement was adequate for the University’s number of programmes and its student population, and based on the distribution of staff (academic, administrative) the levels of staff members in place were adequate.
Utech, Ja’s. student population grew from approximately 6,000 in 1995 to 11,792 in Academic Year 2021/2022.
