UG transformational task force established

BY ALEXIS RODNEY

With a population of over 7000 students, the University of Guyana (UG) – the country’s leading tertiary institution – still has far way to go. And with a fairly new administration in place, a new task force has been established to initiate a process that would be used to restructure and reposition the academic body.

It is hoped that the work instigated by the new unit would help UG achieve a level of excellence necessary to propel the growth and development of Guyana.

Recently appointed Chancellor, Dr Nigel Harris, has received a mandate from Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine to move in this direction, urging him to work along with the Council to constitute a team to review and select studies produced in the last decade that assessed the status of the University and make recommendations for change.

The unit is also expected to hear and assess presentations on the perceived state of the University by select past and present administrators, academic and nonacademic staff along with students among other things.

Speaking to journalists at the university’s first media briefing for this year, Harris said it is known fact that the University has brought much success to Guyana and other places where graduates have found themselves; however, there are a number of chronic challenges that have faced the university that have not been addressed.

“These include issues such as staff remuneration, issues of governance of the university, issues with the adequacy of the facilities, and issues of infrastructural support. There is a matter of morale, matters with respect to the qualification of the academic and nonacademic staff. These issues have been recognised and spoken to in the last two decades”, he told reporters in the Education Lecture Theatre (ELT).

He said what one has to be able to do is revisit all of this, and take hold of the moments of change and opportunities the University and country have found themselves.

Harris said with the change in Government, there have also been changes for the University. He however said that he was not implying that one party has better ideas than the other.

“It is a moment of opportunity because the Private Sector and other friends of the university and the Diaspora who aligned with the university… who also have found that in this moment of change they want to become reengaged with the university”. He said it was imperative that all sectors of Guyana come together.

According to Harris, there is no way that the solutions are going to come from the university alone, adding that every stakeholder must work hand in hand to achieve the best for the institution.

The task force will be officially announced today (Thursday) at the Arthur Chung Convention centre. Members of the team include members of the University of Guyana Council, which comprises representatives of the Government, Opposition and specified interest groups, the Private Sector, UG representatives and other persons drawn from the wider society and the Guyanese Diaspora.

The University of Guyana was established in 1963. It offers more than 60 undergraduate and post graduate programmes in the faculties of Agriculture and Forestry, Education and Humanities, Health Sciences, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Technology.

To date, more than 20,000 students have graduated from the University with the tools and skills to function effectively in the Public and Private Sectors.