Dear Editor,
The Council of the University of Guyana should function in keeping with its statutory responsibilities as set out in University of Guyana Act, Chapter 39:02 which states in part as follows:
“Subject to this act, the Council shall have power to do or provide for any act or thing in relation to the University which it considers necessary or expedient in its capacity as the governing body of the University, and conferring of particular powers on the Council by other provisions” (Section 13 (1), including the election of the Pro-Chancellor from among its membership, and the appointment of the Principal and Vice Chancellor who shall be the academic and executive head of the university(Sections 10 &11).
The university is financed mainly by government subvention and student fees. The total income of the university has been inadequate to cover its operating costs over the years. It has been paying salaries less NIS contributions and income tax deductions, defaulting on regular utilities payments, and neglecting routine maintenance works. This situation has to be addressed urgently by the incoming council with view to enable the university to function with greater autonomy and independence.
Accordingly the University Council should:
- i) negotiate with government the writing off of the university’s accumulated deficits as at August 31, 2015;
- ii) negotiate with government an assured annual subvention from September 1, 2015, based on student enrolment;
iii) negotiate with government the completion of all capital works, repairs and refurbishment of all buildings not covered by the current World Bank Project; thereafter all capital works and maintenance should be budgeted for and executed by the university;
- iv) approve an income and expenditure budget for each year from September 30, 2015 and require the UG to live strictly within the approved budget based on assured income;
- v) require the university senior administration in consultation with deans, heads of departments to undertake immediately cost-saving measures, through cost-cutting, rationalization and merging of courses, deferring or abandoning certain non-critical courses. Courses should not be offered with fewer than 15 enrolled students (with few exceptions) to enable the university to live within its means without incurring costs outside the approved budget, unless council secures and provides the additional funds;
- vi) undertake a forensic personnel audit to determine the optimum full-time academic, administrative, support and other staff required. A similar audit is needed to determine the optimum number of part-time staff needed.
vii) determine the amount of fees to be charged by UG for all courses and programmes – annual subvention plus annual student fees should cover all annual costs from September 1, 2015. For most of the courses, the UG fee is equivalent to US$1,000 per academic year for an individual student. It is to be noted that it costs over G$350,000 per student per year for general degrees. At private universities in Guyana, the fees charged range from US$4,000-US$9,000 annually.
viii) negotiate with government to enable all students to have the required means to pay university fees through loans from the revolving student loan fund which should be increased and administered by a commercial bank;
- ix) students with government loans should be allowed to offset the loan by government for a stipulated period of employment service in the country say, 8 -10 years of service within the country in either the public or private sector.
These proposals, if adopted and implemented, would place the responsibility for the running of the university squarely on the shoulders of the council, the university administration and its management.
Yours faithfully,
Samuel J Goolsarran
