The patrimony of the nation is being destroyed

Dear Editor,
Permit me to put into perspective an issue raised by John Da Silva ref (Kaieteur News, 20-02-09) under the caption “Guyana decayed under the PNC, not PPP”.
According to Mr. Da Silva, “The University of Guyana (UG), which Burnham and the PNC ridiculed as “Jagan’s night school”, and from which thousands of Guyanese plus nationals of other countries have benefited, was Dr. Cheddi Jagan’s idea.”

Mr. Da Silva and the PPP should remember, however, that it was LFS Burnham SC, the Father of this Nation (the man who led us to Independence), who embraced the idea of a national university and saw its transformation into a multi-faculty institution with the physical infrastructure of the Turkeyen campus. He did this because he understood the need for tertiary education and not being spiteful and petty in his politics, as is the case with the PPP/C in government, did what was best for the country.

In 1986 President’s College was officially opened, a vision of Cde. Burnham. President’s College was to cater for the brightest and most successful of our children at the SSEE. Since the PPP came into power in 1992 they have done nothing to improve the standard and quality of that College. Instead of developing and ensuring the College fulfills its mandate, they have attempted to downgrade it and to rewrite its history, including the attempted removal of Burnham’s portrait, which is a powerful image of the relationship of the college to Burnham’s vision.

It has been the mission of the PPP/C to diminish every institution built under the Forbes Burnham administration, to the detriment of the nation. Even in government they are vindictively destroying the patrimony of the nation on the altar of narrow partisan politics.
Julianne Gaul