The Editor, Sir;

A lot of emphasis has been placed on the operations at the primary and secondary levels of the education system but not much on the tertiary level. So what about our universities? Are they immune to this degradation that has seemingly entrenched itself into our education system?

Jamaica was always a benchmark for quality university education, at least in my time as an undergra-duate. Our period of having only two universities, however, has long gone, and our society has realised the emergence of numerous organisations offering university-level education, along with multiple foreign institutions advertising and operating via the Internet.

Little positive effect

This may seem like a positive step in providing solutions to some of our educational problems, as more individuals within the system can now upgrade their status and, subsequently, the overall education standards in Jamaica. The unfortunate reality is that the upgrading of many teachers over the years has had little positive effect on the academic results of schools.

Our society should now be concerned with operations of our universities and investigate the level of disparity between their intentions and their actualities.

In my view, many of our so-called 'institutions of higher learning' have compromised our standards of education at this level and are eroding the foundational quality laid many years ago.

I am, etc.,

VERONICA SMITH

Ocho Rios

St Ann