UG to begin wide-ranging consultations on tuition fees

Last Updated on Monday, 23 June 2014, 19:54 by GxMedia

As an increase in tuition fees beckons at the University of Guyana (UG), the nation’s premier tertiary institution will undertake a series of stakeholder consultations this week which will ultimately justify the “adjustment”.

The consultations will commence tomorrow Tuesday, June 24 from 10 am to 2pm with staff of UG, and continue from 2:30 until 4:30 with the student population at the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT).The following day , Wednesday, UG administration will meet with the public sector  and political directorate at the ELT and on Thursday the university will meet with public sector bodies ;both days meetings are slated to commence at 4:30pm. On Friday the administration will meet with staff, students, the Advisory Board and the public at the Berbice campus from 2:30pm.

Talks of increase in the fees has been in the public domain for some time now and Vice-Chancellor Professor Jacob Opadeyi, told the media during a briefing at the Education Lecture Theatre (ELT) at Turkeyen today that the consultations are necessary with social and economic considerations among other issues under the umbrella of national development being of great importance.

“We want to have our communities have a say”, Opadeyi said as he spoke of the university’s move to have the fees “adjusted”. He said that the move is being done with several considerations in mind including an improvement of library services, delivery of service to students including tuition as well as the general aesthetics of UG.

As regards the adjustment, Opadeyi said that since 1994, UG has not adjusted the fees paid by students and he noted that in the years gone by , the university has been more focused on service . He said the adjustment is being considered in tandem with the exchange rate of the US dollar relative to 1994. That rate was US$1,000 = GUY$127,000 per academic year.

In response to a question on the quality of tuition delivered , he said that starting this year , the university plans to implement a minimum requirement for persons who must hold at minimum a Masters qualification in order to be able to tutor at UG .

He said that earning at education at UG remains one of the cheapest as compared to other institutions globally .”In short we want to create a new future for the university”, Opadeyi spoke of the imminent increase.

At the consultations this week , stakeholders will be briefed on the plans for improving the offerings and facilities at UG, sensitised on its  current financial position while the institution will seek a feedback on the modalities of the implementation as well as gain support for the current and future plans of UG.

The planned fee increase is expected to be implemented in phases.