Minister of Education Priya Manickchand informed the National Assembly on Wednesday that the new University of Guyana (UG) Council is almost fully constituted, with only two organisations still to identify their nominees.
Manickchand made the announcement after a petition to appoint a new UG Council was presented to the National Assembly by APNU MP Dr Rupert Roopnaraine and was subsequently sent to a special select committee by House Speaker Raphael Trotman.
Manickchand informed the House that pursuant to the University of Guyana Act, the Education Ministry and the University invited the relevant organisations to nominate persons to the Council. The life of the previous Council ended on June 30. The minister explained that Section 13 of the Act stated that the Council shall consist of 26 members, including the Chancellor, Pro Chancellor, and Principal and Vice Chancellors.
The other members, according to the Act, must be drawn as follows: One person to be nominated by the Committee of Deans, one person to be nominated by the Academic Board, one from the Guild of Graduates, one from the Student Society, one from the University of Guyana Workers’ Union, one from the Ministry of Educa-tion and Cultural Develop-ment, one from the Ministry of Finance, one from the political Party in Office, one from the minority leader, four from Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), one from the Guyana Trades Union Congress, three by the Minister, six persons by the Chancellor of whom one shall be from each of the Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada, American University of State Colleges and Universities, Committee for International Cooperation and Higher Education of the United Kingdom and the University of the West Indies (UWI). Minister Manickchand said that a Council has been appointed with nominees from the organisations that were named by the Act, in an effort to get truly representative nominees from interest groups and to ensure that members have been chosen through an open and inclusive participatory process. Additionally, it was noted that a consultancy which is being managed by Trevor Hamilton and Associates of Jamaica, is ongoing to address the governance structures of UG.
‘Opposed’
UGSSA President Dr. Patsy Francis said yesterday that although a council is being put in place based on the current statutes, this will not help the university. “She (Manickchand) is saying look, we are operating within the law’ but that is exactly what we are against, we don’t want that. We want the statutes to be changed,” she said.
Francis explained that with the current composition, the Ministry can appoint up to eight persons, which makes a quorum for decision making. “That is what has been happening in the past.- by the time she (Manickchand) finish putting on whoever she wants, these eight people can make any decision they want,” the UGSSA President said, adding that currently, there is no representative of her union. “The party people dominate the council…. we want the council to be depoliticised,” Francis maintained. The petition calls for the appointment of a new, fully constituted Council to ensure that UG “has a governing body that has the capacity to transform the institution into a truly national asset.”
In framing the petition, the University of Guyana Senior Staff Society (UGSSA) and the University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU) and the University of Guyana Students Society (UGSS), which comprise the ‘Operation Rescue UG’ movement, declared that they have “no confidence” in the current council, which they do not trust as currently constituted “to conduct its business impartially and in the best interest of the growth and development of the institution.” The UGSSA and the UGWU noted that the “outdated” and “ineffective” council structure that makes it “deficient” remains. Among the deficiencies they identified is that the council lacks sufficient academic representation of the university in its composition.
