By Ashraf Dabie
Some 2000 students are expected to graduate from the University of Guyana during the 51st Convocation at the Turkeyen Campus, which is slated for Saturday, November 11.
The UG graduation this year will see a number of developments, including for the first time in the history of the university, graduands emanating from certificate, diploma and degree programmes being awarded at two separate ceremonies.
This is as the graduation ceremony for students attached to the Faculties of Agriculture and Forestry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Technology, will be held at the National Cultural Centre on the said date, while for those from the Faculties of Education and Humanities, Health Sciences, and Social Sciences, the ceremony is set for the Turkeyen Campus, also on November 11.
Booked to deliver the feature address at the first ceremony is Dr Dhanpaul Narine, who is a distinguished educator and journalist based in New York while Ambassador Rudolph Michael Ten-Pow, who studied Modern Languages, will give the keynote address at the ceremony set for the Turkeyen campus.
In commenting on this significant change, Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith relayed that, “Our graduating classes have grown tremendously over the years, and having one ceremony has meant having extremely long ceremonies, with some graduates and guests leaving before the ceremonies conclude.”
Griffith, who lobbied for the enhancement, further noted, “Creating two ceremonies allows us to maintain the tradition of having every graduand cross the stage and shake the hand of the Chancellor, and maintain the solemnity of the occasion, while reducing the length of the ceremony.”
Additionally, the Vice Chancellor pointed out that unlike previous years, all students graduating with diplomas will be adorned with academic robes, along with those graduating with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees.
Another new feature at this year’s Convocations will be the use of ceremonial gonfalons, which are banners, often shield-shaped, that hang from crosspieces on top of poles. These banners are usually carried at the head of the Convocation procession and identify the different Faculties within the university from which students are graduating.
On this note, Professor Griffith highlighted that the “adoption of this feature, which is found at mature universities across the world, will enhance the elegance and pomp of the ceremonies”.
Ever since the University held its first graduation in 1968, the institution has become a leading provider of tertiary education in the country, producing on a yearly basis, a number of professionals equipped with the knowledge and skills ready to venture into the local, regional and global job markets.
UG graduates have gone on to assume senior positions in major Public and Private Sector agencies, both in Guyana and across the world.
Meanwhile, the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education, the extra-mural arm of the university, is scheduled to hold its graduation ceremonies for its four centres as follows: Georgetown Centre on November 25; Linden Centre on November 26; Anna Regina Centre on December 2 and the New Amsterdam Centre on December 9, 2017.
