THE chants originating from the collective staff from the University of Guyana have to spur an inquiry. The many “Don’t believe the lies you’re told” and “we’re overworked and underpaid” etc. are not necessarily true, and I quickly suggest that the incumbent Vice Chancellor, Professor Opadeyi, ‘open up’ to have some people really ‘come and see’ what truly obtains at this institution.
Mr. Editor, this is my third year as a student, and most of my problems, where the staff are concerned, are ‘attitudinal’, in that the said university staff, at all levels, manifest a gross lack of proficiency.
Let me talk; time and punctuality is a lost value. The ICT and photocopying centres are terrible in this area-either no one is there to attend to; nine o’ clock is never respected; and extended lunch sessions etc. I promise readers, that if a clock system is employed and CCTV monitoring is to be enacted, many will be exposed. I add here too that in places like the maintenance and library, there are too many staff members ‘just marking time.’ Honest, I do not see why they should be employed as there is not enough work for them. The library is mostly empty and many times students go there to just ‘hang-out,’ chatting in whispers or just being on their phones (keypad), or some other communication device. It is not feasible to have so many employees when there is not enough for them to do. UG has to address this problem.
The other thing too is the attitude of some lecturers–they either show up late for classes or are absent without due notice. It is so sad that they show so little regard for the students. I add here too that they take ‘forever’ to mark and return scripts. I recall one lecturer starting a first semester course in the middle of the second, and even after the August break and the new academic year began, he was still without the course grades. On this particular matter, I know of one student, top one too, who simply abandoned the course and it affected his university tenure, as he had to resort to another course in order to graduate (good thing he had that option).
Let me talk plagiarism too, and I can pin-point one lecturer who does not have a clue what this is all about and how to test for it. Imagine this lecturer flunked almost an entire class of over 40 students for supposedly committing this crime, when it was not really the case. This kind of thing shows how high-handed and indifferent the staff situation can become, and, in fact, has been for quite some time now.
I think that some staff-cutting is in order, and for sure, there needs to be some kind of accountability in punctuality, absenteeism, and neglect etc., for I think that ‘dereliction of duties’ is a serious factor at UG.
Now I do believe that some negotiation is necessary and I do believe that everyone at UG deserves a little ‘raise’. Many Guyanese like to compare salaries and working conditions here with what is the norm overseas, but they do not like to talk about the comparative responsibilities and the consequences of misdemeanours. Many UG staffers, if they were in another country, would not have lasted long, and this is so for all categories at the institution.
Mr. Editor, this current needless impasse must come to an end. Already the students are getting really fed-up, and from much rumouring, I gather that some staff are all for resuming work. I wish the relevant authorities can come in and act maturely. It’s about time.
ERIN NORTHE
