“It is too slow, they are operating too slow,” Mahipaul said recently, noting the process had left room for persons to doubt it. Mahipaul was among a number of students who criticised the behaviour of the lecturer and tabled their objections at the level of the University Council resulting in the university initiating a probe. The allegations against the lecturer were later found to be valid, but he appealed the decision.
Mahipaul spoke openly of his discontent with the process saying he is not happy with reports that the committee set up to examine an appeal by Persaud is yet to complete its work. He is of the opinion the committee’s work should have been completed “by now” and its findings submitted to the University Council. He asked how much longer students embroiled in the incident must wait before a final decision was taken in the case.
Mahipaul had no reservations about speaking publicly on the issue. He told Stabroek News he had suffered victimisation at the hands of the lecturer and that “everyone is aware.” He led the concerned group of students who criticised Persaud and has been vocal in his objections on campus about the lecturer possibly returning to the classroom.
“I have sustained this fight, we have sustained this fight and if we hadn’t I am certain our complaints would have been to no avail,” Mahipaul said of his resolve to have the matter investigated and ultimately concluded. He said the record would show that previous complaints had been raised about Persaud, but that students later withdrew them out of fear of continued victimisation. Mahipaul remains committed saying he is not afraid of standing up for what he believes in.
He said the lecturer had frequented the Turkeyen campus since the allegations had been raised and he had been suspended. “I see him up here but I am not intimidated,” Mahipaul stated. However he added that the fear of victimisation was not at the university level, “it is at the highest level.”
Politically oriented
Mahipaul said he was deeply concerned about the persons sitting on the committee probing Persaud’s appeal since according to him the panel was made up of people who were politically oriented. “This concerns me,” he said. He told Stabroek News the lecturer had a reputation in class for “playing up” his political connections, “which is why I am concerned.” He recalled that some 18 students complained against the lecturer and had initially submitted a report to the university. In its report, the students raised a number of issues, among them the conduct of the lecturer in the classroom. “As a lecturer, we students expect some sort of discipline and esteem to be portrayed. Unfortunately this
lecturer has no protocol, proper methods, discipline nor esteem not to mention ethics in his lecturing format,” the students wrote.
In an invited comment, Sherod Duncan, President of the University of Guyana Students Society (UGSS) noted the committee which was addressing the issue must be balanced. “These people need to be very independent thinking and not leaning to any side.” He said due process dictated people were innocent until proven otherwise, adding that if Persaud were found to be guilty then he should be dealt with accordingly in keeping with the rules of the university.
A source close to the University Council had reported that a few persons who had been approached to sit on the committee examining the appeal had declined, while others said they were busy. The process dragged on for a while and eventually a panel was constituted. However, the source alleged the committee was partial. “It has been watered down to a group of persons who are known associates of Evan Persaud,” the source observed, adding that the findings of the committee ought to be watched closely.
In letters to University Registrar Vincent Alexander, students alleged last year that Persaud had victimised and intimidated them, particularly those sponsored by a mining company. One student related that on the first day in class, Persaud told them, “Leave y’all God at the [expletive] door,” saying that he was god in the classroom. Further, the student charged that most of the time spent in class was “sex talking time.”
The student also reported that a 2008 examination supervised by Persaud had been held at a city hotel and students who opposed this were victimised.
