Balgobin to universities: Stop the bickering

Such antagonism does little to help students, he said in reference to the perceived strained relationship between the University of TT and the University of the West Indies at St Augustine.

His observation came in an address at the opening ceremony of the first Chinese Culture week held at the school’s campus at Mount Hope. It was held in collaboration with the Embassy of China, last week.

Quality, he warned, must not be compromised.

Universities, he added, must pay more attention to the needs, both current and emergent, of business, institutions and government.

The challenge is compounded by the increased demands on the system which, he said, have resulted in significant enrolment increases, without corresponding increases in support.

He told guests that the thinking behind the Chinese week was simple, noting that significant opportunities remain to develop greater cultural awareness as a means of furthering business objectives.

“In our student population, we have seen the criticality of broadening perspectives and so opening minds. These people are the business leaders of today and tomorrow, and it is vitally important that we expose them to opportunities to develop cultural awareness and sensitivity,” he said.

He said the reason why the business community must be alert to Chinese culture is the significant role that China is playing and will continue to play in the world economy.

Nations like China and India, Caricom and Latin America, all impact a great deal on the development of business here, he stressed.

“Awareness gives rise to opportunity, opportunity taken leads to commercial success. Commercial success leads to competitiveness. Competitiveness supports development,” he said.

He said culture is about “how we live and work, the things we believe, what we hold dear, how we process experiences and the norms by which we interface,” noting it is much more than Best Village, Scouting for Talent, Shiv Shakti or Mastana Bahar.

Culture, he added, gives us a broader appreciation of the world and how to relate to it. Building cultural awareness is about building global mindsets, which, he noted, an export economy like Trinidad and Tobagom needs.

In this regard, he said the education system and the tertiary one, in particular, can do more to building mindsets for tomorrow’s marketplace.