EDUCATION Minister Jerome Fitzgerald tabled the long-awaited University of the Bahamas bill yesterday.

The bill, which would repeal the College of the Bahamas Act, would make the institution largely independent from the government, a move the college’s President Dr Rodney Smith has said will unleash its potential to attract greater sources of revenue that would spur development.

The university, according to the bill, would be run by a board of trustees. That board will replace the College Council and it would have vast powers to dictate the direction of the university.

“There shall be a board of trustees which shall,” the bill says, “be free from undue influence from political, religious, or other external bodies and shall protect the institution from such influence.”

The board would consist of “not less than nine and not more than 21 members appointed by the Governor General”.

These members must include the university’s president, someone selected by the Prime Minister, one selected by the leader of the opposition, one by the minister responsible for finance and one by the minister responsible for education.

The board must also include the president of the Alumni Association; someone elected by faculty who has been employed for five or more consecutive years; a staff employee elected by staff who is employed with either line or managerial staff for five or more consecutive years; a full-time student elected by the student body; a member of the Alumni Association selected by the aforementioned members; and a member of the Retired Faculty Association selected by the first nine members.

The bill does not require that a member be a representative of the Union of Tertiary Educators (UTEB), unlike the College of the Bahamas Act.

The university president notwithstanding, none of the board’s members can hold office for more than two consecutive four-year periods.

The university would also have an ombudsman who would be responsible for investigating complaints and “resolving problems and disputes brought to the attention of the ombudsman by an aggrieved party,” along with other duties granted by the board.

In addition to having the power to borrow money, the university would be required to present the Minister of Education with a report that details a wide range of matters related to the institution.

By Rashad Rolle, Tribune Staff Reporter

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