It is often said that an investment in education pays the best interest. For many Jamaican students, matriculation to a tertiary institution often represents a significant financial expenditure. It is therefore important that the intangible value which a course of study purports to hold, can be converted into opportunities from which students can expect to reap social and economic benefits complemented by their own human efforts.

In the thirty years since its inception, the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) has made significant strides in promoting a culture of quality assurance in tertiary education and training. The level of awareness and resultant quest by prospective students for accredited programmes offered at registered institutions, truly reflect the fruits of the UCJ’s commitment to enabling national development through the strategic implementation of quality assurance protocols.

I therefore extend heartiest congratulations as you commemorate this anniversary milestone.

Thanks to the UCJ, Jamaica is highly regarded for tertiary level accreditation in the Caribbean. This as quality assurance becomes more acceptable and institutions engage in a process of consistent innovation and improvement of course content and delivery, as well as institutional management. The outcome is that our graduates are more marketable and competitive with their peers anywhere in the world.

As Jamaica commemorates 55 years of independence and celebrates the contribution of Jamaicans at home and abroad, it bears emphasising that the work of foundation leaders of the UCJ whose work in this area of education is helping to advance the realization of the national goal to achieve a high standard of world-class education and training of which we can all be proud.

Happy Anniversary UCJ!