I READ with interest the BBC story involving the German Education Minister who was forced to resign from her post after she was found guilty of plagiarism. Not only was she forced to resign her post but she was eventually stripped of her doctorate by her university.

And, not so long ago, another high-ranking government minister in Germany resigned after it was established that he had plagiarized large parts of his doctoral thesis.
Plagiarism is a serious academic offence and constitutes a case of intellectual dishonesty through the unacknowledged borrowing of other people’s ideas and writings. Students, especially those at the tertiary level, should avoid the tendency to copy other people’s works and present them as something original.
One of the hallmarks of good scholarship is originality of ideas and the ability to challenge  basic assumptions of man and society and come up with new and fresh perspectives.
Every year, thanks to the University of Guyana, hundreds of Guyanese graduate with university degrees and diplomas and are thrown into the labour market, unlike what obtained during our colonial past when only a privileged few were provided with the opportunity to study overseas at the degree level.
Those were the days of “doctor” politics when a university degree was seen as a status symbol and one of the criteria for high office, including political office.
This year will mark 50 years since the establishment of the University of Guyana, quite a significant milestone. Thousands of Guyanese have since graduated from the University of Guyana and have at varying periods assumed leadership positions in government and the private sector.
It also should be noted if only for the records that the University of Guyana was established by the PPP Government  in 1963 and was the brainchild of the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan. There were some who, mainly out of narrow partisan considerations, opposed the establishment of the university which was dubbed ‘Jagan Night School’.