UG Council refuses rental of Camp St. Building

Apr 29, 2017 News

– gives go-ahead for Business school

The proposed $6M rental of a “downtown campus” for the University of Guyana (UG) is now completely

UGWU Executive, Khemraj Narine

off the table. The institution’s policy makers met on Thursday, and decided that it will not be renting the identified building at Camp and Lamaha Streets.
The proposal, made by the University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, was not taken lightly by students and staffers of the institution. Many were of the view that the millions of dollars being spent on a downtown campus could be plugged into actually developing the university.
Khemraj Narine, an Execute Member of the University of Guyana Workers’ Union (UGWU) believes that UG should develop its existing campuses before even thinking about expanding.
Narine is advising that Professor Griffith use his tenure as Vice Chancellor to create the legacy of fixing all the existing wrongs plaguing the institution.
“Instead of looking to establish a downtown campus, he should focus on what is happening here at Turkeyen, and fix that,” Narine emphasised.
Nonetheless, while the rental of the building was refused, the Council did agree to work on at least one of the Vice Chancellor’s proposals.
The idea for a School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation has been approved, and is now expected to be housed at the University’s Turkeyen Campus.
Thursday’s meeting also discussed the University’s budget, and as usual, the student and staff unions were not very happy.
For many years, employees of the University have been complaining of receiving inadequate pay.
Narine, during an interview with this newspaper, made reference to the fact that while the lower ranks of staff continue to suffer, the university’s “extravagant” administrative team continues to enjoy big benefits.
“People are put to run the university, unsupervised. They do whatever they want, and when they leave, we have to stay here and battle the implications,” Narine said.
His colleague and President of the UGWU, Bruce Haynes, pointed out that the hefty make up of the university’s administrative team, is taking a toll on its finances.
“The university is already struggling to do the things that it has to do. Now, to make things worse, they have hired all of these new people, and are giving them all these fat salaries, for doing the things that less people used to do before,” Haynes said.
As it is, the University’s management comprises a Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, three Deputy Vice Chancellors, a Registrar, four Assistant Registrars, a Vice Chancellor’s Cabinet which has its own high level staff, and a Director for Strategic Initiative.
Aside from the Cabinet, the Vice Chancellery also has his own staff, and this is being headed by a Director of Administration. But it does not end there. The University is also advertising for a Director of International Liaison.