Representatives of the University of Guyana (UG) yesterday met with Attorney General Anil Nandlall to discuss the terms of a new agreement with officials of the University of the West Indies and the Council of Legal Education for the continued automatic admissions of graduates of the UG Law Programme into the Hugh Wooding Law School.
Admission of UG students to Hugh Wooding has been a contentious issue over many years.
The visiting UG delegation comprised Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin; Registrar of the University of Guyana, Dr Nigel Gravesande; and the Head of the Department of Law of the University of Guyana, Attorney-at-law Kim Kyte-Thomas. Also in attendance were State Solicitor, Public Trustee and Official Receiver, Prithima Kissoon; and State Counsel, Raeanna Clarke.
During the meeting the delegation raised four principal issues with the Attorney General. Firstly, the execution of the new and long-term agreement with officials of the University of the West Indies and the Council of Legal Education of the West Indies for the admission of UG graduates.
Secondly, increasing the number of Guyanese graduates of the UG Law Programme gaining automatic admission into the Hugh Wooding Law School from 25 to 40 students.
Thirdly, settling the number of non-Guyanese graduates of the UG Law Programme gaining entry into any of the three law schools in the Caribbean Region – namely, the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad, and Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas.
And fourthly, the inclusion of the University of Guyana in deliberations of the Council of Legal Education on the issues affecting the University of Guyana. With respect to the fourth issue, it was noted that the University of Guyana is one of the universities given express recognition in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and accordingly should be properly included in deliberations of the Council of Legal Education.
According to the release, the Attorney General, who is also an executive member of the Council of Legal Education, indicated his intention to attend the next meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Council of Legal Education and the University of Guyana concerning this issue and expressed his commitment to moving these arguments forward. He was also keen to highlight that Guyana was one of the few States to make timely payments to the Council of Legal Education.
Nandlall also used the opportunity to introduce the delegation to the State’s new prosecutorial programme which seeks to build capacity and improve the proficiency of police prosecutors and requested that the programme be carried at the University of Guyana.
He suggested that the programme be annual and of a one-year duration. It should cater for approximately 40 students who already possess a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree and they will be trained to prosecute in the various Magistrate’s Courts throughout the country. The Legal Affairs Minister indicated that the syllabus is being completed by a consultant and contingent upon UG’s agreement, the programme would start in the academic year commencing September, 2021.
The UG delegation welcomed the idea of the programme and pledged to accommodate the programme at the University of Guyana, the release added.
