Director of the University of Guyana’s Tain Campus Professor Daizal Samad has tendered his resignation, citing the subservient posture he and other administrators at the Berbice campus have been forced to endure.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Samad, who took the office in 2008, said that the campus has seen much progress
and success over the last three to four years despite the old system of control, which has led to strife.
However, he said that his decision was prompted by the continuous erosion of the authority he and other administrative staff suffered. “Even simple things, such as problem solving issues, we have no control over. If the secretary decides not to work, we cannot take disciplinary measures.
People can do whatever they want to do with whoever they want and we cannot do anything about it,” Samad complained. “Simple things, they make difficult. It should not take three days to so something that can be done in three minutes,” he added.
He explained that quite recently he was engaged in talks with the Turkeyen Campus to delegate some of its authority to the staff of the Berbice Campus. These talks though have since gone in the opposition direction.
These issues, Samad disclosed, are compounded by the fact that the Tain Campus does not even control its own finances. The Tain campus receives a separate government subvention to facilitate its operations, Samad said, adding that these funds are controlled by the administrators at Turkeyen.
“The situation created here is that I am not getting to do the job for which I am being paid,” Samad argued. What then is the point of a Director and Senior Administration? We have absolutely no control, no authority whatsoever on the campus, and we are left with no recourse,” he said.
Samad, who worked at several other universities before going to UG, said that he had never encountered such issues until he started his tenure there in 2008.
He added that he did not attribute the problem to any one person, but to the system under which they are all forced to work. “I have shared my concerns with two Vice Chancellors (VCs) and two VCs acting, but none of them seem to have the will to try to break this ancient structure,” Samad said.
Samad sent his resignation to Pro Chancellor Prem Misir earlier this month, however it will not take effect until October.
However, Stabroek News was informed that Samad’s resignation can only be considered and decided on by the UG Council, which since expiring in June, has not been re-established.
Meanwhile, Samad suggested that that a “University of Berbice” could be run very efficiently with the existing government subvention. “We want our own university here in Berbice. We can do much better with the same subvention the government gives,” Samad argued. “I am informed that there is an ongoing petition, which half a thousand persons have signed so far,” he added.
He said that once they would have started their operations, and after bringing the private sector on board, the university would be able to fare without the government subventions at the end of eight years.
He said that he would also approach Malaysia, Oman, Canada and other such countries, which have expressed their interest in assisting the university, for help. He added that several foundations could also be instrumental in solving the problems being experienced. “These people ate willing to help but we are not making attempts at thinking outside the box,” he said.
