UWI Jamaica honours PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar

PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the Hall of graduates

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was officially inducted Tuesday afternoon into the Park in Honour of UWI Graduates at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus. Those honoured are UWI graduates who are or have been Heads of Government. She is the first female to join the esteemed group.

A special plaque was unveiled in the park to commemorate Persad-Bissessar, a former student and lecturer at the Mona Campus. She said she was deeply honoured to be added to the "esteemed list of Heads of Government at the University’s Park".

Speaking at the induction ceremony, Persad-Bissessar expressed her gratitude for the honour and praised the role of UWI in her journey to success.

"Many of my most memorable experiences occurred right here during my time at the University of the West Indies. Indeed, this campus formed an integral part of my life’s journey and my time here has contributed significantly to the success I have achieved," she said.

Professor Gordon Shirley, Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal of the UWI, Mona, delivered opening remarks at the special ceremony and thanked Persad-Bissessar for her continued support of the UWI.

He said, "We are most proud of the fact that we have produced such a large number of Prime Ministers and we are particularly proud of a Prime Minister who aside from being a member of the University alumni, was also a member of faculty and has remained an ardent supporter of the University, it’s regional mandate and its commitment to the development of our people."

Jamaica’s Minister of Education, Rev. Ronald Thwaites, said the Government and people of Jamaica were elated at the graciousness of Persad-Bissessar’s visit for the nation’s “birthday celebrations”.

He stated that the gesture reaffirmed the covenant that exists between the Caribbean islands and the members of CARICOM.

“On behalf of all of us Jamaicans, we are so happy to welcome you. We extend our hearts to you and we hope that this gesture of recognition at the University will be a sign to our many generations of the potential of higher learning and of the gift that we give to each other in our region,” the minister said.

Persad-Bissessar is the first female Prime Minister and the 16th Head of Government to be inducted into the Park.

Persad-Bissessar graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Education in 1974 and went on to earn her post-graduate diploma in Theory and Practice of Education in 1976, both at UWI Mona Campus. In 1985 she graduated with her Bachelor of Laws at the Hugh Wooding Law School. And in 2006 she earned an Executive MBA from the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business.

More photos from the event below: