The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) in a message on the 50th Anniversary of the University of Guyana congratulated the faculty and staff and called on the government to increase the subvention for the University of Guyana and to adopt an ‘education first’ policy.
In a release the PNCR said that the lack of funding to UG has stifled the University’s ambition to produce individuals with the requisite skills to aid national development.
It said that the theme for this year’s observances, “Honouring the past, Molding the present, Transforming the future” is quite prescient for an institution celebrating half a century of service to the nation. It recalled the Booker Group of companies’ donation of 1450 acres of land for the construction of the Turkeyen Campus, and the soil for the University campus being turned on the 24th May 1966 by the founder leader of the PNC, LFS Burnham.
The PNCR recalled that in 1976 (Education Year), in a State Paper on education, the PNC had asserted its commitment both to the principle of equality of access to educational opportunity and to working towards the elimination of socio-economic barriers that prevent vulnerable groups in the society from enjoying such opportunities. As the 50th Anniversary of the University of Guyana is celebrated, the PNCR reasserted that commitment.
The PNCR declared that in order for the university to aid in molding the present and transforming the future, more needs to be invested in, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The Party also called for the immediate improvement/investment in infrastructure on the campuses.
