PRO-Chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG), Dr. Prem Misir, has said that the most important criterion for consideration in increasing the tuition fees of the university is whether it would still allow all persons to have equal access to higher education.

In a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Dr. Misir expressed concern for people who come from ordinary families, whose incomes might not be high enough to afford them equitable access to higher education.
He noted that the founder of the University of Guyana,(UG), the former President Dr. Cheddi Jagan, had always believed that while Guyana has some “fairly well off” people, there are also a lot of ordinary people who may not be able to afford high fees.
Dr. Misir related that Dr. Jagan’s vision was to make it possible for all students, regardless of where they come from, to have equal access to admission at the university. He said the university has to be careful not to raise tuition fees to a point beyond the capability of people with ordinary and lower incomes, because those people would then be deprived of a higher education.
However, he stressed that while the university can make recommendations to increase tuition, it cannot unilaterally so do, because the final decision lies with the government.
The Pro-Chancellor emphasised that increased tuition fees would also be a concern for the Government, because governments are set up to be concerned with the poor and the vulnerable.
He pointed out that the Government spends a lot of money on student loans; and if tuition fees are increased, the student loans would increase as well, which would become a bigger liability to the Government.
Nevertheless, he said, there are indeed valid reasons for raising the tuition fees; but it should be kept in mind that there is a liability aspect on behalf of the Government, and the Government has to be concerned with increasing its liability, since it is not only providing services to UG, but also other aspects of education — health and infrastructure, among other things.
The recently appointed Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Guyana, Professor Jacob Opadeyi, had disclosed in a recent press conference that the institution is currently looking at ways to increase its tuition fees, which he described as “ridiculously low.”
However, President of the UG Students Society (UGSS), Mr. Ganesh Mahipaul, in an invited comment, said his organisation would support the proposed increase only if the standard of education is lifted.