Observer Story Published: Thursday 09 May 2019

The University of the West Indies (The UWI) and Caribbean Military Academy (CMA) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding that should see the university assisting the academy with programme development.

The signing took place at CMA’s headquarters at the Jamaica Defence Force’s (JDF) Up Park Camp base in Kingston.

CMA, the academic institutional arm of the JDF, currently operates six centres of excellence which provide a broad range of training courses to developing militaries and para-military organisations across the region and around the world.

the UWI vice chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, in an interview with the Jamaica Observer after the signing, said the move will allow CMA’s training programmes to secure international accreditation and standards.

“UWI, which has been here for 71 years, has a duty to help all of the young and emerging academies, colleges and universities. We have a duty to help with the parenting and the area in which we are very strong is in moving programmes to global accreditation; moving them from the classroom and the conception all the way into mobility,” said Beckles.

“Their members and their graduates will have a life ahead of them of 40, 50, 60 years from now and they are going to be globally mobile. They will move from country to country and they must carry their certification with them and wherever they go they know they’re graduates of CMA. That has significance. It is branded, it is quality assured and it is recognisable everywhere in the world,” he added.

In the meantime, Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Rocky Meade stated that the academy is seeking to engage thousands of service people for training and development.

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