The 56th convocation ceremony of the University of Guyana (UG) got underway at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) yesterday morning, where this year’s valedictorian urged his fellow graduates to be “agents of change” for the nation, while stating that their collective achievement is an opportune time as Guyana is on the “cusp of transformational economic development.”
This year’s ceremonies will see close to 3,000 students being conferred certificates, diplomas and degrees in various disciplines across two days.
With a perfect 4.0 grade point average (GPA), Economics major Sean Samuel Pemberton emerged as the valedictorian and winner of the President’s Medal.
In his valedictory address, Pemberton said the occasion “earmarks a stepping stone for us all in becoming agents of change for the betterment of our country.”
He noted that the country is on the cusp of transformation with burgeoning opportunities, “not just in oil exploration; but in agriculture, renewables, ICT, near-shoring and a raft of downstream opportunities that would call upon us all and generations of graduates in times ahead, to extend ourselves fully to ensure that we avail ourselves of the true bounty of this country.”
“Let us use the opportunity to honour our ancestors,” he said, guided by the third verse of the National Anthem which reminds that “we are born of their sacrifice, heirs of their pain and ours is the glory their eyes did not see.”
But even as they bask in the “afterglow” of their academic achievements, Pemberton said “we cannot…must not ever forget” what he said is the “economic malady and societal chaos” brought on by the COVID pandemic.
Pemberton noted that the very pandemic stymied them from creating lasting memories on campus over the full duration of their academic lives there, which he said was akin, at the height of the pandemic, “to walking through mud with every step forward comparable to a hard-fought victory with which made the sense of accomplishment even more profound.”
“We didn’t allow COVID-19 to crush our spirits, but in fact it strengthened our resolve to confront the challenges and overcome,” he said.
Underscoring his line of study, Pemberton stressed what he said was the importance of economics in mobilising the country’s resources “towards development that is more inclusive and sustainable.”
He said “the people of our country are its true resources and those resources must be appropriately galvanized and deployed.”
Stating that education is a lifelong process which must be supplemented with appropriate experiences, higher studies and character development, the valedictorian then had a message for business leaders, Human Resource (HR) executives, policymakers and what he said were hirers in general who do not employ over lack of experience.
“This is what I call the brick wall of graduates’ dilemma,” Pemberton said describing it as obstruction into which he said many new graduates often run in their quest to “get a job commensurate with your education,” which they are then told requires experience.
“But you cannot get that experience without first getting such a job.” “How are new graduates expected to proceed under such circumstances?” he asked.
Against this background he issued an impassioned call on the relevant institutions “for more opportunities for internships, jobs and more scholarships,” which he said will allow for more “holistic and inclusive education and to facilitate that process of continuous elevation of graduates.”
He opined that specifically it would be useful if due consideration were given to a tax-incentive program to incentivize the establishment of the requisite internship programmes to facilitate the engagement of graduates.
Similarly, he pitched the idea of a task force being set-up with a mandate of developing a conducive framework for the entry of graduates into the workforce, which he said would be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the current local content legislation.
“It is Guyanese human resource which will move this country to where it needs to be,” he said.
As has been the norm since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020, the first set of the ceremonies commenced yesterday with graduates from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Technology and the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
Certificates were also given to graduates from the College of Medical Sciences, College of Behavioural Sciences and Research, the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation and the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education.
Significantly, the opening ceremony also saw, Guyana’s legendary former West Indies cricket captain Sir Clive Lloyd and Guyanese literary critic, editor, and cultural activist Ameena Gafoor being conferred with Honorary Doctorates for contributions in their respective fields.
Following his robing, the cricket-great expressed his gratitude to the academic staff of the University for the conferral by which he said he was humbled, stating that it has been a privilege to serve his country through his contributions to the game.
Lloyd, who captained West Indies to World Cup triumphs in 1975 and 1979, was officially entered in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Hall of Fame back in 2009. Ten years later, he was honoured with Knighthood by the Queen, for his illustrious career.
He has been credited for moulding the West Indies side of the late 1970s and early 1980s into a dominant force in world cricket.
Following his playing career, Lloyd served as West Indies team manager and also held prominent roles with the International Cricket Council as match referee and as a member of their cricket committee.
Lloyd, who gave more than five decades of his life to cricket, also once served as chairman of West Indies selectors
Gafoor was conferred with her doctorate in absentia.
She has published widely and is the editor of a foremost peer reviewed periodical, The Arts Journal, and funded “The Arts Forum”, which has been responsible for conferences on East Indian Studies, art exhibitions and other cultural activities.
She has served as a member of the Jury for the Guyana Prize for Literature. Her most recent publication is A Lantern in the Wind: A Fictional Memoir, her autobiographical creative non-fiction about her own Muslim family history, released in 2020 by Hansib in the UK.
The importance of her work has received significant recognition through the recent establishment of The Amena Gafoor Foundation in the UK. This is a centre for research and seminars managed by Professor David Dabydeen, Fellow of the University of Cambridge, formerly of University of Warwick and Guyanese Ambassador to China, and to UNESCO.
Meanwhile, the remaining graduates of the Class of 2022— from the Faculty of Education and Humanities and the University’s largest faculty, Social Sciences— will be conferred with their respective certificates today.
Those two respective ceremonies will also be held at the NCC.
