Proposals to “restructure” the University of the West Indies will be officially implemented with effect from the Ist October, 1984. The stated objective of such restructuring is the need for more Campus autonomy in order that the University may contribute more effectively to the perceived “national needs” of the respective Commonwealth Caribbean territories.
Vice-Chancellor Aston Preston [11] has explained that:
"The contributing governments agreed that they wanted to retain the regional University but they felt that the former highly-centralised structure was not sufficiently responsive to their needs, since Council, on which they each had one and only one representative, met frequently. The campus countries wanted a mechanism which would enable them to make a more direct input into the management and organisation of the campus in their territory. At the same time the non-campus countries insisted that they needed a means of safeguarding their interests and ensuring that their needs were met".