THE University of Guyana (UG) administration noted the concerns raised by President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), with respect to the claim that UG is not catering to the needs of the private sector, as reported in the Saturday, May 11, 2013 edition of the Stabroek News.

The University of Guyana, as the lone national and state university in Guyana, strives to cater to the needs of its stakeholders. Whereas UG has contributed enormously to the development of middle and senior management staff that currently service the needs of the public sector, the university, admittedly, could do more to meet the needs of not just the private sector but that of the less served, the minorities living outside of Region # 4.
It must however be appreciated, that the UG on its own cannot do this, given its current financial structure and income generating mechanism. Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jacob Opadeyi, has been meeting with private sector umbrella organisations in an effort to engage the private sector as a development partner, to assist with additional funding for sustainable and inclusive growth of the university. According to Professor Opadeyi, “We, in fact, seek the collaboration of the private sector, as we see this as an avenue to improve the diversity of our offerings and modality for our sustainability. We will prepare to offer demand driven programmes that meet the needs of our stakeholders. If we lack the resources to offer a particular programme we will build collaboration with leading Universities who can support us to offer quality programmes.”
The university’s efforts to serve all stakeholders require collective responsibility. The Vice-Chancellor further stated that, “Gone are the days when we will have to rely on Governments for the provision of resources both capital and recurrent. The private sector, and in particular the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, needs to step up to the plate. Share with us your needs. Knock on our doors, provide avenues for dialogue and provide us with the resources to adequately serve your members and the less served in our communities.”
The university is hoping that this type of engagement will foster a working alliance between the sector and the university, to ensure that the partnership is mutually beneficial.