Leroy Fearon | Missing men at the lectern: rebalancing Jamaica’s higher education

Each year, Education Week in Jamaica invites reflection on progress, innovation, and the transformative power of learning. This year, however, the conversation must extend beyond celebration to confrontation. A critical question persists across the sector: where are the men in our lecture theatres, not as students, but as educators?

Across Jamaica’s colleges and universities, male representation among academic staff continues to lag behind that of their female counterparts, particularly in disciplines such as education, the humanities, and the social sciences. While institutional data vary, regional estimates suggest that men account for roughly 35 to 45 per cent of tertiary level academic staff, with even lower representation in faculties of education. This reflects a wider Caribbean pattern in which teaching, especially within pedagogical spaces, has become predominantly female.

This imbalance carries implications that extend well beyond staffing statistics. In higher education, lecturers serve as intellectual anchors who shape how students interpret disciplines, careers, and their own identities.

When male students progress through the education system encountering few male educators, particularly in fields like education, it subtly signals that teaching and scholarship are not domains in which they belong. Over time, this perception reinforces itself. Fewer male lecturers today inevitably produce fewer male academics tomorrow.

At institutions such as The University of the West Indies and University of Technology, Jamaica, female enrolment has surged and, in several faculties, is now mirrored in staffing patterns. While this represents an important achievement in gender equity for women, it also highlights a new imbalance that cannot be ignored if the system is to remain inclusive and representative.

The roots of this disparity are deeply embedded in the educational pipeline. Fewer men are enrolling in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, particularly in education, and even fewer progress to the advanced qualifications required for academic careers.

Across Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, women consistently outnumber men at the postgraduate level, in some cases by nearly two to one. This trend significantly narrows the pool from which future male lecturers can emerge.

Economic considerations further complicate the issue. Academic careers are often perceived as offering slower financial returns when compared with opportunities in the private sector. For many young men, especially those facing immediate economic pressures, the extended pathway from undergraduate study to doctoral qualification to academic appointment appears neither attractive nor feasible. The result is a gradual but steady withdrawal of men from the academic profession.

The implications for national development are significant. A balanced academic workforce is not a symbolic ideal but a functional necessity.

Diversity among educators enriches discourse, broadens mentorship opportunities, and strengthens institutional responsiveness to social realities. Male educators bring perspectives shaped by their own lived experiences, just as female educators do, and both are essential to a holistic learning environment.

Moreover, Jamaica’s aspiration to build a knowledge driven economy depends on a robust and representative academic community. When a significant portion of the population is underrepresented among those producing knowledge and leading research, the system operates below its full capacity.

DELIBERATE AND SUSTAINED POLICY INTERVENTION

Addressing this issue requires deliberate and sustained policy intervention. The Ministry of Education and Youth must take the lead in developing targeted strategies to attract more men into academia. This includes the introduction of scholarships and fellowships specifically for men pursuing postgraduate studies, particularly in education and other critical disciplines. Such initiatives could be structured as bonded programmes that transition graduates directly into lecturing roles within tertiary institutions.

Equally important is the creation of structured academic pathways that identify and support promising male students from the undergraduate level through to doctoral completion. These programmes would help to rebuild the academic pipeline and ensure a steady flow of qualified male educators into the system.

At the same time, the economic attractiveness of academic careers must be reassessed. Competitive salaries, access to research funding, and clear opportunities for advancement are essential if academia is to compete with other professional fields.

There is also a need to reshape public perceptions of teaching and scholarship. National campaigns that highlight the achievements of male academics can help reposition academia as a viable and respected career for men. When young men see themselves reflected in the lecture hall, not just as students but as leaders and scholars, participation becomes more attainable.

This is not a call to diminish the remarkable progress made by women in higher education. Jamaica should take pride in the advances that have expanded opportunities for women across all levels of the system. Rather, it is a call to restore balance in a way that ensures inclusivity for all. Education Week provides an ideal moment to move beyond recognition of success and toward critical reflection on emerging gaps.

If Jamaica is serious about strengthening its higher education system and advancing national development, then it must act decisively to encourage more men to step into academic roles. The future of education depends not only on who has access to learning, but also on who stands at the front of the lecture hall shaping it.

- Leroy Fearon Jr, J.P, M.Sc., is a lecturer, multi-disciplinary researcher, author, geography specialist, columnist, Governor General's Achievement Awardee '24 and Governor General I Believe Initiative (IBI) Ambassador '24. Email feedback to columns@gl