Students of the University of Guyana Berbice Campus may have to wait a while longer for a director since there will be no appointment anytime soon.
Members of the private sector in Berbice and students of the university’s Port Mourant, Corentyne campus, have been lobbying to have former director Professor Daizal Samad reinstated. However, according to information received from the university’s registrar’s office at Turkeyen , interviews are still to be held for the post which has been vacant since July last year.
Tension has been brewing over the last couple of months, as students and members of the public questioned the reason why the post has not yet been filled, particularly by Professor Samad, who had reapplied.
A delegation headed by student Shazeena Seetaya had late last year met with President Donald Ramotar and Education Minister Priya Manickchand with a petition signed by over 5000 persons, seeking to have Professor Samad reinstated.
According to Seetaya, President Ramotar had advised that Professor Samad re-apply for the post, noting that he would be given a fair chance, however, to date, nothing has been done.
Other sources revealed that operations at the campus have been crumbling over the last couple of months. Guyana Times International understands that internet services at the institution were recently disconnected; a situation that would have never seen the light of day, had Professor Samad been there. There has also been a decline in publications at the university, the source said.
Professor Samad, when contacted by this newspaper recently, said he wished not to comment on the issue, but had confirmed that he did reapply. Last July, Professor Samad handed in his resignation, citing his inability to work under the strenuous circumstances. Samad had been seeking to have independence from the Turkeyen campus.
In his resignation letter to Pro-Chancellor, Dr Prem Misir and the UG Council, dated July 4, 2013, Professor Samad stated that relations between him and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jacob Opadeyi, as well as with the “deadweight” Turkeyen campus had become strained and distant over the past couple of weeks. He had also accused Turkeyen of dictating the day-to-day running of the Berbice campus.
