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This past week has seen graduation exercises at The University of the West Indies; a batch of degreed people flowing out of its gates, just over 3,000 of them. I’ve spoken to a few of them, getting a sense of their experiences within academia. Some were first-timers, others completing Master’s and PhDs. It was quite varied. One of the striking aspects was the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had on everyone, directly and indirectly. Students lost close family members, either during their studies, or had to defer them at the time. Some had to become the breadwinners of their household on account of the losses. Many faced deep depression wrought not only by their personal grief, but because lockdowns isolated them from the physical companionship that can offer succour at such times. Hardships were multiplied. The average student faces a great deal of transitionary situations. The hustle of assignments; the stress of exams; for undergraduates, finding the onus squarely on their shoulders to do the required work without the close attention of lecturers. It is imagined to be the glide into adulthood, accepting responsibility for one’s choices. Not everyone is equipped to navigate that passage—the early twenties are notorious for poor decisions! Sometimes students have to grapple with living away from their family homes. Sometimes, to deal with roommates and the capricious nature of sharing spaces. Most of these are regular kinds of challenges. But here in 2025, many of those graduating have had to deal with the wreckage the pandemic left in its wake. Not only did it create a new dimension to student life, but it significantly altered the character and purpose of those who had to make their way through its upheavals. Both staff and students had to restructure their teaching and learning methods. The radical shifts affected everyone in a multitude of ways. One student told me that he had just finished his undergraduate degree, and was applying to do his Master’s when Covid struck the planet. He had got an internship but when it ended, he was not offered a continuation. He found the transition from the physical interactions, which stimulated him, to the remote teaching much too draining for him. Unemployed and depressed, he thought he should abandon the Master’s plan. He signed up to join the Defence Force, and on the same day he got a call from the organisation he had applied to previously. There, he met someone who encouraged him to resume the programme, and he has now graduated. People told me about the family members they lost—in some cases several were taken by the pandemic. We know death is a part of life, but we cannot deny Covid pointed its gnarly fingers at some households with grim frequency. This cohort of graduates, and the last few, have weathered many personal crises on their journey. Listening to them talk about the selves they had left behind, the cheery optimism that gave way to a wary, measured outlook on life, one can see a development that was specially curated by the impact of a pandemic. Another thing that struck me was the prevalence, especially in the older students doing post-grad programmes, of those who had to juggle the demands of careers and full-time jobs, with classes and assignments. Classes can be managed, but assignments beat the brains out of most. Nearly everyone told me about running on just a couple of hours of sleep, of staying back at work to tackle assignments because going home would mean distractions from the rest of the household. A mother of three adults told me that so often did she miss events of theirs that it became problematic. She pressed on and hopes they can make up for the time apart. The absence of GATE funding posed a real financial burden on students. Many had complained that people benefiting from GATE squandered their opportunities. Truth is, those who really need it are not being given the opportunity. In these times of economic depression, it is not easy to pay tuition fees and manage a household, even under the most frugal operating system. One student had told me he had worked as an OJT which helped him to gain experience (and a stipend). The exposure he received in that environment actually influenced what he chose to do for his Master’s programme. People have knocked the OJT programme as being exploitative; getting inexperienced youngsters to work for a pittance without teaching them any real skills. Maybe that is so, maybe that was quite likely so, but as in everything else, one can get something valuable out of all manner of things if one is inclined to do so. With reports of a reduction in OJT funds, it is clear the programme’s worth has been reassessed. What does it mean for those trying to get a foot into a door, any door? There is a massive amount of unemployment in our land; not a lot of work available. People are investing in an educational journey at great personal cost, and I imagine they hope that they will find it an enabler for future earnings, or at least a decent quality of life. Apart from that, as a society we would be enriched by having a population who has learned to think real thoughts and share ideas. That’s a valuable investment. —Vaneisa Baksh is an editor, writer and cricket historian. E-mail: vaneisabaksh@gmail.com. One of the striking aspects was the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had on everyone, directly and indirectly. Students lost close family members, either during their studies, or had to defer them at the time. Some had to become the breadwinners of their household on account of the losses. Many faced deep depression wrought not only by their personal grief, but because lockdowns isolated them from the physical companionship that can offer succour at such times. Hardships were multiplied. The average student faces a great deal of transitionary situations. The hustle of assignments; the stress of exams; for undergraduates, finding the onus squarely on their shoulders to do the required work without the close attention of lecturers. It is imagined to be the glide into adulthood, accepting responsibility for one’s choices. Not everyone is equipped to navigate that passage—the early twenties are notorious for poor decisions! Sometimes students have to grapple with living away from their family homes. Sometimes, to deal with roommates and the capricious nature of sharing spaces. Most of these are regular kinds of challenges. But here in 2025, many of those graduating have had to deal with the wreckage the pandemic left in its wake. Not only did it create a new dimension to student life, but it significantly altered the character and purpose of those who had to make their way through its upheavals. Both staff and students had to restructure their teaching and learning methods. The radical shifts affected everyone in a multitude of ways. One student told me that he had just finished his undergraduate degree, and was applying to do his Master’s when Covid struck the planet. He had got an internship but when it ended, he was not offered a continuation. He found the transition from the physical interactions, which stimulated him, to the remote teaching much too draining for him. Unemployed and depressed, he thought he should abandon the Master’s plan. He signed up to join the Defence Force, and on the same day he got a call from the organisation he had applied to previously. There, he met someone who encouraged him to resume the programme, and he has now graduated. People told me about the family members they lost—in some cases several were taken by the pandemic. We know death is a part of life, but we cannot deny Covid pointed its gnarly fingers at some households with grim frequency. This cohort of graduates, and the last few, have weathered many personal crises on their journey. Listening to them talk about the selves they had left behind, the cheery optimism that gave way to a wary, measured outlook on life, one can see a development that was specially curated by the impact of a pandemic. Another thing that struck me was the prevalence, especially in the older students doing post-grad programmes, of those who had to juggle the demands of careers and full-time jobs, with classes and assignments. Classes can be managed, but assignments beat the brains out of most. Nearly everyone told me about running on just a couple of hours of sleep, of staying back at work to tackle assignments because going home would mean distractions from the rest of the household. A mother of three adults told me that so often did she miss events of theirs that it became problematic. She pressed on and hopes they can make up for the time apart. The absence of GATE funding posed a real financial burden on students. Many had complained that people benefiting from GATE squandered their opportunities. Truth is, those who really need it are not being given the opportunity. In these times of economic depression, it is not easy to pay tuition fees and manage a household, even under the most frugal operating system. One student had told me he had worked as an OJT which helped him to gain experience (and a stipend). The exposure he received in that environment actually influenced what he chose to do for his Master’s programme. People have knocked the OJT programme as being exploitative; getting inexperienced youngsters to work for a pittance without teaching them any real skills. Maybe that is so, maybe that was quite likely so, but as in everything else, one can get something valuable out of all manner of things if one is inclined to do so. With reports of a reduction in OJT funds, it is clear the programme’s worth has been reassessed. What does it mean for those trying to get a foot into a door, any door? There is a massive amount of unemployment in our land; not a lot of work available. People are investing in an educational journey at great personal cost, and I imagine they hope that they will find it an enabler for future earnings, or at least a decent quality of life. Apart from that, as a society we would be enriched by having a population who has learned to think real thoughts and share ideas. That’s a valuable investment. —Vaneisa Baksh is an editor, writer and cricket historian. E-mail: vaneisabaksh@gmail.com.
