…take health care for instance. We are educated to believe that doctors and prescribed medication help us to get well. Billions of dollars go into this industry. In many cases ailments can a be avoided through diet and lifestyle and there are powerful medicinal properties in substances that are deemed illegal by our lawmakers. We are educated to believe there is no cure for cancer, and will (like a religious zealot) feel that anyone that claims otherwise is a madman … Maat
According to that ubiquitous source Wikipedia, “education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another.”
The above extracts are instructive in the context of the current debate on whether the government is getting value for money given the significant investment it continues to pump into tertiary education. Some like Professor Michael Howard are of the view that we must be cognizant of the harsh economic conditions, a key consideration in the amount government should transfer to the UWI, Cave Hill. Others believe education must be supported at ‘all cost’ if we are to enable our people to compete on a global scale.
A couple weeks ago the effervescent Cherita Howard who often delivers a very interesting commentary in the early morning slot on Voice of Barbados made an interesting observation. As a former athlete her focus was on the importance of sports persons engaging in healthy living. She made passing reference to the easy access our young athletes have to the growing number of fast food outlets on the island. It is only then there was the realization that on a 24 mile long and 14 mile wide island we have about 30 Cheffetes and KFCs combined give or take one or two. The benefits or lack thereof of fastfood have been articulated by those medically competent. It should come as no surprise that a recent study established one in 10 of the world’s adults is obese. We have surrendered to the fast food revolution and Barbados is no exception if we are to judge by the number of snack boxes in garbage bins. An interesting observation was made in the aftermath of Tomas about the long lines which quickly formed at fast food outlets across Barbados. Those waiting did not seem to mind the wait of up to one and two hours to procure a burger, snack box and other goodies from the fast food menus.
What does this say about our society? This is a country which has allocated over the years 20% or more of the national budget to education. What does it say when despite such an investment in our human capital our people present no qualms to eating themselves to an early grave? Barbados seems to have worn the title of ‘amputation capital’ of the world very well. We are also in close contention for the other title ‘highest non communicable diseases’ in the world. We have the paradoxical situation where we spend 20% of our national budget on education and then because of our ignorance, which bears no relation to being an educated society, we spend a significant amount on healthcare.
There is a saying ‘follow pattern kill Cadogan”. Barbadians continue to follow the path of least resistance showing no backbone to buck a global trend which is destined to lead us no where, and fast. Despite our boast of being an educated society by our actions we appear to be betraying that fact.
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