REGISTRAR of the University of Guyana, Mr. Vincent Alexander has advised that the decision to postpone the commencement of the 2012/2013 academic year from August 27 to September 10 was a considered opinion of a committee of teams.
Alexander said he could not say whether the two weeks would be adequate to solve all the issues surrounding UG’s opening, since he did not arrive at that decision alone, but rather it was a collective decision. However, he said the administration is making every effort to have the university ready by September 10.
Asked about claims made by the University of Guyana Students Society regarding the reasons for the postponement of the start of the academic year, Alexander said the university’s administration does not dispute any of the claims made.
In a recent press release, UG had stated that major blame for the postponement should not be laid only on the industrial actions of last year, but also on such issues like shortage of lecturers, the untimely manner in which the university produces grades, and a paint job currently being carried out on the campus.
Alexander also explained that applications and registration for both new and continuing students are currently ongoing. The UGSS had mentioned in its press statement that one of the reasons for the late start of the semester is the “slothfulness exhibited by lecturers to mark exam scripts in a timely manner,” which interferes with the registration process.
The registrar, however, said that grades do not affect the registration process, since the outstanding grades are for second semester, and registration is currently being done for the first semester.
He also stated that if a student needs to repeat a course from the last semester, there is enough time to make amendments to accommodate that.
Alexander additionally noted that the UG Administration was currently working to appoint lecturers, and lecturers should be available for almost all courses by the September 10th opening.