UG, Guyana gov’t in talks about tuition-free education, payment of outstanding tuition fees

Last Updated on Sunday, 20 October 2024, 11:53 by Writer

The University of Guyana (UG) on Saturday said that every effort was being made to cover its operational costs and hold the graduation of thousands of students next month.

The publicly-owned tertiary education institution said since government’s announcement of free university tuition there was need to urgently address “some conditions” surrounding interpretations by students and others.

“Some of these matters concerning implementation modalities and the paying over of fees owed by prospective graduates and continuing students to the University are being assiduously addressed by the appropriate offices of the University and the Government of Guyana.

“This is so that all eligible students can graduate on time and the operations of the University for which fees have always been needed can continue uninterrupted until January 2025 when this first semester officially ends,” UG said in a statement.

UG welcomed government’s decision to take responsibility for quality tuition-free education from January, 2025, but indicated that students needed to pay their outstanding tuition fees. “Revenue from fees cover more than 50% of the University of Guyana’s operating expenses and are always desperately needed towards the end of the year,” UG said.

“The University of Guyana, therefore. wishes to assure its stakeholders that all possible avenues are being pursued to ensure the operations and best interests of everyone, most importantly those of our 3500 prospective graduates are satisfied in the coming week,” the statement reads.

This year’s graduation is planned for November 7th to 11th and November 17th, 2024.

In support of the Government of Guyana’s generous promises of free tuition, UG said it has extended itself for the past four years, by allowing thousands of students to attend and successfully complete without fully paying fees. UG added that there could be no routine reason that the graduations of students already planned would be withheld by the same university which has nurtured them for all this time.

UG, now in its 60th year, was founded in October 1963 and to date offers more than 160 programmes in over 60 disciplines in online, face-to-face or blended formats.

UG delivers in a Guyana-based system across eight campuses. It is the largest, oldest, most advanced and only state university in Guyana with a student population of over 10,000.

UG has provided education, training and research for over 50,000 alumni over its 60-year history. On impact, its graduates have risen to populate the commanding heights of national, regional and international organisations of repute in over 150 different disciplines.