Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Ivelaw Griffith, says there have been a number of improvements at the educational institution and has dismissed recent reports related to extravagant spending, among other things, while calling for verification of claims before articles are published.
In a letter, published in yesterday’s Stabroek News, Griffith said that he has been silent for some time now as “misinformation, outright fabrications, and innuendo” designed to malign and hurt the image of the university and him, and to impede the progress being made to improve the service to students and staff, have been published.
Griffith, in highlighting some of the recent improvements, pointed to the newly commissioned US$665,000 Jay and Sylvia Sobhraj Centre for Behavioral Sciences and Research, the launch of the School of Entrepreneur-ship and Business Innovation in 2017, and the launch this year of new degree programmes in Petroleum Engineering, Food Science, Youth Work, Clinical Psychology, and in Nursing and Civil Engineering in Berbice.
He added that with support from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and Schlumberger, they now have a $2 billion geotechnical lab for petroleum and mining engineering courses, and also regained accreditation for the School of Medicine in 2017, which, he said, is a “special point of pride.”
“We also made significant improvements in the library at Turkeyen and in Berbice, built a brand-new building for Facilities Maintenance, and will see the completion of the new Math and Science Classroom building soon. We also constructed a Student Social Complex costing over $56 million. Work also will begin later this year on a new building to house the Personnel Department and the Bursary. As well, the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT) and the Small Lecture Theatre are now fully air-conditioned and there are new bathrooms in the GWLT,” Griffith said in his letter.
He also pointed out that the Faculties of Agriculture and Forestry, and Health Sciences and the Biodiversity Centre are some of the places that have been upgraded along with the purchasing of a new generator that cost almost $22 million.
Griffith further highlighted that a new parking lot was created, the Cheddi Jagan Lecture Hall was refurbished at a cost of $16 million, and the university’s road has been resurfaced. He also noted that during the academic year, over 400 students participated in undergraduate research conferences at UG and in Georgia, Florida and Aruba, and seven will be traveling to Germany shortly.
“Moreover, in 2017, staff received salary increases of six and eight per cent, and in 2018, the increases were three and four per cent – tax free. Also noteworthy is that every time the base salary increases, the sum of the housing allowance, which is 20 per cent of the base salary, also increases by the percentage of the base salary increase,” he pointed out.
For this year, the university’s administration had related to the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) and the University of Guyana Workers Union that it is not in a position to grant increases to salaries and wages because of financial constraints, sparking industrial actions by the unions and a call for the university’s books to be audited.
Extravagant spending
Meanwhile, Griffith dismissed recent news reports related to extravagant spending and called for verification before articles are published.
“Take the Kaieteur News story entitled ‘No toilet paper and soap for staff but UG spent over $400,000 to cater dinner for eight’ published on April 22, 2019. Not only is it patently inaccurate to assert that there is no toilet paper and soap at UG, but the claim that $400,000 was spent on a dinner for eight individuals is patently false! I say this without fear of contradiction,” he asserted. He expressed similar sentiments with regards to another story headlined, ‘UG executives tripled their salaries in five years’ and emphasised the need for verification before publishing.
Griffith said that the university’s administration and him are committed to improving standards and addressing all relevant issues at UG but cannot do it alone and need cooperation and good faith from all shareholders, including the unions and the free press.
The unions, during their picket actions, have accused UG’s administration of spending money on non-essential things that were not in line with upgrading the institution such as overseas trips and other extravagant events. Subsequently, the Ministry of Education had indicated that a request was made to the Auditor General’s office for an audit to be conducted.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Jewel Thomas, President of the UGSSA, said that they have been waiting on more information about the audit and they don’t believe they should say anything before.
“I don’t believe we should say anything until we know more. It is good to hear that an audit is going to be done but we need to hear more about what is being proposed. Audits can take various forms and how the Terms of Reference will be framed will be extremely important and will make a lot of difference. We would like to see that before we say anything on the details of that subject,” she said.
As it relates to Griffith’s letter, Thomas said that they would have to discuss it with their members before taking a public position.
