New lawyers receive tuition fee refund from government
Best graduating student, Micheal Munroe and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams
Best graduating student, Micheal Munroe and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams

By Telesha Ramnarine

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams interacting with the law students on Thursday

THE Government of Guyana has stuck to its promise of providing law students with 25 per cent of the economic cost of their Hugh Wooding Law School tuition fee, notwithstanding that the students would have graduated since last November.

Supporting the students in this manner has been an ongoing initiative since the coalition government took office, but for some reason, the payment was not made for the 2018-2019 period. The government would pay the money directly to the law school.
“It was paid in 2016 and 2017, but for some inexplicable reason, it was not paid in 2018. Fortunately, I was able to get it. I thought that the students needed to get the money,” Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams said on Thursday.
While interacting with the students who qualified for the refund, at the ministry on Carmichael Street, Georgetown, the minister said it was not an easy process finding the funds for the students.

“The government had, despite everything, decided that we would ameliorate the harshness of the cost of legal education at Huge Wooding. We had to fight for it of course, the permanent secretary knows it. But if I start on a track, it’s hard to get me off of the track. I’m happy that we can pay you now,” he told the students.

New attorney, Lydia Beresford

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Joylyn Nestor-Burrowes, told this publication that 20 persons were going to be paid yesterday. According to her, three additional students had received full government scholarships, and hence did not need to be refunded.
The Guyana Prize for the best graduating student for the academic year 2019 was given to Attorney-at-Law, Micheal Munroe. He was also presented with Guyana Law Reports ranging from 1975-2007.

One student, Marnice Hestick, was not aware that she was going to be refunded, and so when she got the news, she said she was elated. “It’s important to note that the government is supporting their students, given the fact that it is so expensive and the cost is very hard to bear on an average Guyanese family,” she expressed. She commended the government for being concerned about the students and for sticking to its word in supporting them. “It’s great to see that the government is supporting us and gave us this money even though it’s after the fact that we would’ve completed law school,” Hestick further commented.

MOST WELCOMED

Recently graduated lawyer, Marnice Hestick

Another student, Lydia Beresford, offered that the money is welcomed in assisting the new students as they have only recently returned from school. “The first payment, we use it towards our rent, food. Living in a foreign country away from home, we needed to make that adjustment and this would definitely assist us in our transition now to finding jobs and facilitating ourselves,” she said.

Meanwhile, Minister Williams reiterated his desire to establish a law school in Guyana, noting that it was something he wanted ever since he took office.

“We named a law school, engaged a Jamaican partner; the first year the chairman told us we weren’t given permission. We had to find the evidence that we more than had permission. The process also started involving Chancellor Bernard and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana and all these things. After we satisfied them that we were on track, they next raised the question of accreditation. They were saying that the agreement didn’t cater for that kind of arrangement and that UWI actually builds the school, or if you build the school, they take it over and run it and all these things. So they kept changing the goalpost and stuff but then we have oil now right?”

Legal Affairs Permanent Secretary, Joylyn Nestor-Burrowes

Williams further stated that one of the good things now is that the country has a new chancellor. “And he has written CLE (Council for Legal Education) and he’s complaining that they are making a determination on UG law graduates but UG doesn’t have representation at the CLE, which is true. I honestly believe we should build our own law school, CLE or no CLE, because Bahamas did that. They started with a polytechnic and now they gave them equivalency to UWI (University of the West Indies). We were the original signatory to the agreement and we don’t have equivalency. Bahamas could automatically enter any UWI law school and we are still negotiating. Can you imagine that?”

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