Questions about UWI and the University of Guyana joint venture

Nov 26, 2020 Letters

Dear Editor,

Like me, the Caribbean and the rest of the world must have been shocked on hearing the news last week that the UWI would train 20,000 Guyanese over a period of five years.
A release issued by the University of the West Indies (UWI) stated that negotiations are currently ongoing to finalise an agreement to develop the “human capital” of Guyanese.
What an insult to the University of Guyana (UG) and Guyanese people by the new PPP Government led by Dr. Irfaan Ali who has recently obtained his Ph.D. from UWI.
What an embarrassment to the thousands of UG graduates who could teach most courses on “human development” at home and so become gainfully employed at home.
This is all suspicious.
UG is the only national university in Guyana. It is 57-years-old and Guyana’s oldest institution founded in 1963 before independence.
Instead of investing in local resources and personnel, the Government is selling its foreign exchange, ancestral soul and national pride. The main campus in Georgetown looks like an overgrown cow pasture.
An angry public release from UG stated that it is now offering more than 1,000 courses online as part of ‘The University of Guyana Blueprint 2040’ strategy framework.
The release added that it has also routinely collaborated with over 100 regional and international institutions.
Something does not smell right here. It seems that Dr. Ali is taking Guyana down a “dutty” trail in the backdam.
Fatimah Mohammed