THE University of Guyana Science and Technology Support Project (UGSTSP) was launched yesterday morning with a World Bank soft loan of US$10M.

With counterpart funding by the Government of Guyana it is for the improvement of science and technology education and infrastructure development and institutional capacity building at UG, those present were told in George Walcott Lecture Theatre on the Turkeyen Campus.
In attendance were Government Ministers, members of the Diplomatic Corps, senior staffers of the Ministries of Education and Finance and UG.
The programme comprised welcome and opening remarks by Chairman of the UG Committee of Deans, Dr. Emmanuel Cummings, a briefing on the project by Director of the Office of Resources and Mobilisation Planning, Dr. Marlene Cox, remarks by the World Bank Representative, Ms. Hongyu Yang and Pro-Chancellor, Dr. PremMisir and the feature address by Acting Education Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony.
Cox disclosed that the financing is the largest for institutional development the institution has ever received in its now 50 years of existence.
The project comprises Science Education Quality Improvement, Infrastructure rehabilitation and institutional capacity building and will last for five years.
She disclosed that the science education improvement component will support a curriculum reform process by updating existing curricula and/or reorienting it, with the aim of supporting the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
There will be provision of technical assistance on curriculum reform, instructional design and science content.
Selected research
To be completed at a total cost of US$1.9M, the education quality improvement programme will also include selected research relevant to the LCDS through the provision of research grants to selected UG lecturers.
The component for infrastructure rehabilitation will be completed at a cost of US$6.2M and would see the upgrades of existing science laboratory buildings in the targeted Faculties of Agriculture & Forestry, Natural Sciences, Technology and the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, as well as the improvement of UG campus wide drainage.
It will also include establishment of a campus wide Internet network within UG to connect its faculties and libraries to it and prepare UG for an international link, including the development of software applications, e-learning tools, digital content multi-media equipment among others to support the curriculum reform process.
The main indicators that will be used to measure success include an increase in student, faculty and private sector satisfaction with the strength of the four science faculties, new investments in buildings equipment and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) so that they are maintained in good working order and that studies produced by the project are incorporated into the UG strategic plan.
Project oversight will be done by a multi stakeholders steering committee which will be chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Jacob Opadeyi working with the Project Coordinator, Ms. Vedyawattie Looknauth.
A procurement specialist will have responsibility for implementing the technical aspect of the project while the Planning Unit of the Education Ministry will be responsible for the management of the finances.
Cox said counterpart funding by the Government amounts to G$1.36M and repayments to the World Bank are to begin from 2021, spread over a period of 20 years.
The project includes the establishment of a website from the commencement of implementation which will contain details of all related activities and be continuously updated to keep the public abreast of what has happened or is happening.
Defining moment
In his feature address, Anthony hailed the undertaking as a “defining moment” in the life of UG.
He said science and technology has played and continues to play an extraordinary role in the transformation of human societies and, amid exciting and unprecedented scientific discoveries and innovations occurring worldwide, developed economies understand that, if they depend on past and current innovations alone, their economies would stagnate, which is why they have all oriented their educational systems to deliver more science-based students.
”We, too, in Guyana must understand the importance of science and understand that the Ministry of Education and UG have a prominent role for the advancement of science in Guyana by teaching it and by providing opportunities for research,” he posited.
He urged the University to use the opportunity of the UGSTSP to align its programming closely to the LCDS, so graduates and lecturers can provide more support in its implementation and its objectives of mitigating the effects of climate change.
Anthony also proposed that UG use the loan as a catalyst for becoming leader in research pertaining to carbon sequestration, so that Guyanese can develop renewable energy technology, lead in tropical eco-system research and devise mechanisms for the quantification and evaluation of eco-services.
He said: “The Government of Guyana will work with you to facilitate this change”
Misir said the World Bank /Government of Guyana partnership has manifest implications for national development, as it brings into play the relationship between climate change and biodiversity in the context of a global diversity crisis which includes Guyana.
“This partnership will enable us to address strategic priorities including deforestation and forest degradation, help with the capacity development emanating from the World Bank in protecting coral reefs, retrieving and restoring fisheries and related jobs and explore the link between eco-systems degradation and persistent rural poverty,” he said.
Misir said the partnership will, hopefully, curb biodiversity loss here at home.
“This partnership creates a new era in the life and development of this University,” he acknowledged.
World Bank Representative, Operations Officer and Task Team Leader (TTL) of the UGSTSP Yang thanked all the officials who had worked together to make the funds available.
She promised: “The World Bank is part of your team. We will work together at every stage of this five year long University of Guyana Science and Technology Support Project to ensure that the objectives are achieved.”