Dear Editor,
On behalf of the students of the University of Guyana (UG), I write to highlight the level of disdain and contempt with which the students are customarily treated. In doing so, I will use one example, out of the myriad instances available.
Since last semester, some time around October-November, 2011, the air-conditioning system in the UG Library has ceased working. Upon inquiry, I was informed that the UG Library roof was under repair, consequently, the air-conditioning system could not work – maybe because of some open spaces in the roof through which the cold air could escape.
The students who use the library throughout the semester and, even moreso, around exam periods were inconvenienced. After much protestation by the students, an inadequate number of fans were provided to minimize the discomforting heat resulting from the poorly ventilated building. Being understanding human beings, the students endured the slightly ameliorated discomfort during their study periods in the library, thinking that in a couple of months or so the roof would have been completed and the air-conditioning system would have been up and running.
Approximately eight months have since elapsed, another exam period is upon us, and the roof seems to be nowhere near completion. As a matter of fact, the work on the roof has been stalled for some months now. And, from the look of things, the students will be forced to endure the same discomforting conditions they endured last semester.
It might be necessary here to point out that the Ministry of Education assumed the responsibility for capital works at the University of Guyana, therefore, the contractor working on the roof of the UG Library is directly contracted by that ministry.
Editor, should you use your good office to help publicise this issue, you’ll be contributing to a potential mitigation of the difficulties the students endure on a daily basis.
Yours faithfully,
Duane Edwards
President
University of Guyana Students’ Society
