Dear Editor,
On Thursday, October 6, 2016, while travelling on a Coaster bus which plies the Duhaney Park to Campus (The University of the West Indies, Mona) route, it was observed that an identification card for a student of the university was prominently displayed in close proximity to the left of the driver’s seat. As an alumnus of The UWI, I would know that identification card anywhere in the world. I then thought how inconvenient it would be for this student, who would be unable to access the library or other facilities that would require the utilisation of this vital item.
On reaching Mandela Park in Half-Way-Tree, several students from The UWI, Mona, boarded the minibus and, at a convenient time, I engaged one of them in a conversation in the hope that she would take the ID to a location on campus where contact would be made with the respective student.
To my surprise, the student with whom I spoke indicated that she does not know the student who lost her ID. I suggested to her that she could perhaps leave it at the security post by the ‘Irving Hall entrance’. She responded in the affirmative.
As I disembarked the vehicle shortly thereafter, I also told the conductor (who is known to me for several years) that the ID could be left at the security post at the Irving Hall entrance, just in case the young lady with whom I spoke forgot. He seemed to be relieved to know this, as he indicated that the ID had been in his possession for a week.
If at the tertiary level our education system cannot help us to solve these basic problems, we may need to ‘wheel and come again’.
Joan Francis
Kingston 10
francisj16@yahoo.com
On Thursday, October 6, 2016, while travelling on a Coaster bus which plies the Duhaney Park to Campus (The University of the West Indies, Mona) route, it was observed that an identification card for a student of the university was prominently displayed in close proximity to the left of the driver’s seat. As an alumnus of The UWI, I would know that identification card anywhere in the world. I then thought how inconvenient it would be for this student, who would be unable to access the library or other facilities that would require the utilisation of this vital item.
On reaching Mandela Park in Half-Way-Tree, several students from The UWI, Mona, boarded the minibus and, at a convenient time, I engaged one of them in a conversation in the hope that she would take the ID to a location on campus where contact would be made with the respective student.
To my surprise, the student with whom I spoke indicated that she does not know the student who lost her ID. I suggested to her that she could perhaps leave it at the security post by the ‘Irving Hall entrance’. She responded in the affirmative.
As I disembarked the vehicle shortly thereafter, I also told the conductor (who is known to me for several years) that the ID could be left at the security post at the Irving Hall entrance, just in case the young lady with whom I spoke forgot. He seemed to be relieved to know this, as he indicated that the ID had been in his possession for a week.
If at the tertiary level our education system cannot help us to solve these basic problems, we may need to ‘wheel and come again’.
Joan Francis
Kingston 10
francisj16@yahoo.com