National

A 40-Year Journey from College to University

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The availability of education to all Bahamians was one of the major priorities of the government 50 years ago.

Published

1 year ago

July 7, 2023

Jerome Sawyer

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The availability of education to all Bahamians was one of the major priorities of the government 50 years ago.

They wasted no time expanding the educational offerings. Two years into Independence, in December of 1974 the College of The Bahamas was officially launched, officially opening its doors to students in January of 1975.

The college itself was established through a 1974 Act of Parliament.

But the road to tertiary education began long before and faced many hurdles.

Prior to the mid-21st century, there were few educational opportunities for Bahamians.

From 1940 onward, few had access to secondary education. Following a four-year hiatus, in 1961, the Bahamas Teachers’ College reopened in Nassau.

In 1968 came the San Salvador Teacher’s College and by 1971 the C.R. Walker Technical College opened.

These institutions were absorbed into the college – operationalized into one institution in September of 1975.

The urgency for a tertiary institution became more pronounced as independence approached.

A policy of Bahamianization birthed by Majority Rule in 1967 sought to make Bahamians full participants in the workforce as skilled laborers and “professionals”. The individuals could and should be educated at the national college. But skeptics in the early day called it an “impossible dream”.

The Bahamianizaiton of the college began immediately. In 1976, Dr. Roger Brown became the first Bahamian Registrar of the college.

By 1979, four years into her tenure, Keva Bethell was appointed vice principal.

In 1982, Dr. Keva Bethell became the first Bahamian woman to become the principal of the college.

A 1995 amendment to make COB an independent institution, made the late Dr. Bethell the first Bahamian president.

On November 10th, 2016, COB became the University of The Bahamas.

Through its decades of struggle, the college survived and thrived. Forty years later, it became what we now know as the University of The Bahamas.