The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

There has been much movement and discussion in relation to transitioning the College of the Bahamas (COB) to the University of the Bahamas (UOB).

Various fundraising initiatives have taken place, the private sector has invested millions of dollars in and on COB’s campus, all in an effort to steer COB to the possible UOB.

The government has also invested millions of dollars in the process. COB has raised several million dollars to sustain the transition effort and private persons and institutions have all made huge financial contributions to this venture. I recently read that the IDB (International Development Bank) offered funding of over $20m to further the transition, however the funding was not utilised or turned down.

I am hopeful that this venture of transitioning COB to the UOB indeed is successful. I firmly believe that a properly established, proficiently operated UOB will inure, primarily, to the benefit of the Bahamas and Bahamian people. This is a most needed institution and would undoubtedly become a respected university.

As it currently exists, most of COB’s assets exist on its eastern location on Thompson Blvd. The Bookstore of COB is located on the western side of Thompson Blvd, opposite the front eastern section of COB.

Dormitories for COB currently exist on College Ave and other assets of COB exist on Thompson Blvd west. College Ave is some distance away from COB proper and there are at least two public thoroughfares that one would have to traverse to get from the dormitory to the entrance of COB.

Initially when COB was established one could accept that at that time no one could predict its potential growth. It could be accepted that the exponential growth could not be fathomed nor could it have been anticipated that the location would have become inadequate.

However, since its establishment  in the 1970s, through the 1980s, through to the 2000s one might expect that given the demographics of New Providence the size of the student population at COB would increase substantially and that the capacity of COB would be severely taxed.

We understand there exists today over one million acres of Crown land in The Bahamas.

I have matriculated at two different universities. I have visited scores of other colleges and universities in the USA, the Caribbean and in Europe. During my “stays” and/or visits, I have never seen a college or university exist with a public road passing smack dab in the middle of it. I have never seen any of those institutions be subjected on a daily basis, to the onerous traffic that exists as in New Providence.

Colleges and Universities ought to exist as little cities, autonomous entities unto themselves. It is shameful and disgraceful that COB has had to operate as a quasi-government entity for so long. It is downright pathetic that the grimy fingers of “politics” still hover over COB and continue to hinder its progress.

I cannot for the life of me understand why it is that some crown land (50-100 acres) could not have been allotted to COB as an institution. I cannot understand why this could not be found out of the one million acres of crown land that exists in this country, either in Andros, Abaco, Grand Bahama or Eleuthera.

It appears that by such neglect and oversight those who are and have been responsible for COB have strong contempt for common sense. I would have imagined that it would be easier to invest in a growing COB, or UOB on a location that would be able to sustain substantial expansion in the long term. The past and current vision of COB soon to be UOB has been a narrow one, totally bereft of planning and forward thinking.

I am sadly very well aware that after spending all those millions of dollars on the current exhausted location of COB it will take a miracle for the campus to be relocated. It will probably require an act of God for that to happen. In the meantime, however, substantial amounts of money will continue to be invested there and it will be even more onerous to dislodge it.

It is my sincere hope that the powers that be see the wisdom that at its current location COB cannot successfully transition to UOB. It is also hoped that someone out there, in there, will see sense in moving the campus onto exclusive acreage (50-100) where a UOB can operate at its maximum. It’s a simple solution but then again that is just my view.

RAYMOND A ROLLE

Nassau,

July 5, 2016.