The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute unveiled a master plan yesterday for a proposed new 20-acre campus, but officials said the final price tag is still being calculated as the institution prepares to ask Bahamians and the private sector to help fund the project.

Elvin Taylor, BTVI’s chairman, said the campus would be a “very expensive exercise”, with preliminary estimates ranging from $180m to $250m.

“Different technical institutions around the world have costs differently,” Mr Taylor said. “I would assume when it's all said and done, 180, 100, 250 million is going to cost, we still calculating the cost. We're not there yet, but every Bahamian is going to be asked to participate, whether it's $20 a month, $100 a month, everyone is going to be expected to contribute.”

The master plan was unveiled by Kevin Basden as United States Ambassador Herschel Walker paid a courtesy call to BTVI’s New Providence campus off Old Trail Road.

Officials said the proposed campus would include a courtyard and spaces designed to enhance student life, including athletic and social activities. The conceptual designs were developed after consultations with internal and external stakeholders, including faculty and students.

Mr Taylor said BTVI is preparing to launch a capital campaign and will look beyond government funding to finance the project.

“What we want to say, as well as we look forward to this brand new campus, is that we're about to launch a capital campaign and so, in terms of funding from government, we're also going to be looking to the private sector,” he said. “There's also opportunities as we look at this partnership and relationship with the US, perhaps some concessionary financing to assist with the infrastructure, tools, equipment, etc.”

BTVI president Dr Keyshan Bastian said the institution wants to strengthen technical and vocational education pathways, including programmes that allow students to move directly from high school into tertiary-level technical training.

“BTVI is the premier technical institution in the country for career and technical education training. We want to be branded and seen as such. We want to have programmes in country that allow high school students to matriculate from high school into a tertiary programme where they see the value of going into career and technical education and not competing with an academic programme” she said.

“We want parents to recognise in the paradigm shift to take place where parents recognise that career and technical education is a viable option with viable injections with careers that have viable income and sustainability, and so we can attract those students very early on and bring them into the program very early into high school.”

“We keep them here, we build a model that sustains the country, but can be mirrored example and branded to take into international areas, international communities, and so that's the combined vision.”

Dr Bastian said career and technical education accounts for about 70 percent of the nation’s graduates. She said BTVI currently offers 35 active programmes and expects about 500 graduates this summer.

Mr Taylor compared BTVI’s ambitions to the former Bahamas Hotel Training College, which trained hospitality students from across the Caribbean. He said BTVI has the opportunity to play a similar regional role in technical education, comparing its potential impact to the University of the West Indies’ role in academics.

Ambassador Walker said the United States Embassy has worked with BTVI for years and wants to make it easier for Bahamian students to study in the US.

“We're happy at the embassy to have joined forces here with BTVI for many years, because we can help to make it easy for all the Bahamian kids that are thinking about studying in the US because that's one thing we want to do is make it easy,” he said.

“We're family, so what we have to do is make things easier, and we thank you for what you're doing, and we can see that you're making progress in doing this here, having a new campus and doing the things that you do and we want to help, and how we can help is continue to join forces.”

He noted an October college and university fair and efforts to reach students in the Family Islands.

Mr Walker also sought to ease concerns about US restrictions affecting different countries.

"People see what's happening in Trump administration and they just assume things are difficult, but it's really not,” he said. “Things are very simple, you know. One of the first agenda that President Trump said is keeping America safe, and you know, people think when I came to The Bahamas I'm just looking to keep America safe, but if I keep America safe, I got to keep the Bahamians safe as well so this goes together.”

“That’s the reason we got a new embassy, and that's the reason we have Education USA. We want people to come, the kids to come and learn how to make it easier to go to the US. That's going to make things a little bit easier, and I think that's the problem. People just assume that countries are open up -– they’re not. Come and let and find the reason how we can make it easier for you to come to the US.”