THE University of Guyana has introduced three new undergraduate programmes to cater for the needs of both the public and private sectors.
The new programmes are Bachelor of Social Science degrees in Business Economics, Marketing and Environmental Health.
The institution has been long offering a Diploma programme in Marketing and an Associate Degree in Environmental Health. The degree in Business Economics however, comes as a new programme that encompasses a mixture of both business and economics courses.
Public Relations Officer of the university Paulette Paul, said that the implementation of these programmes comes as a response to the needs of both the private and public sectors’ demands for quality graduates.
Shareza Davids, an Economics lecturer, told this publication that the university has been receiving high responses for the degree in Business Economics since the programme focuses on the corporate environment.
“This programme is ideal for entrepreneurs and persons who want to boost their analytical skills to be able to make rounded decisions, since it is a general economics programme that is more geared towards the private sector,” Davids said.
However, Davids pointed out that currently, the Faculty of Social Sciences is contemplating embedding an internship programme into the new programme so as to enable students to practise skills at various private- sector organisations.
This newspaper understands that a number of continuing as well as prospective students have indicated their interest in pursuing the new programmes and have requested a change in their registrations.
One such student is Andrew Semble, who recently completed his Diploma in Marketing and is contemplating applying for either the marketing degree or the business economics degree programme.
“This is definitely advancement for the university, because the university never offered a Degree in Marketing, so the only alternative was to pursue Business Management courses, but now the choice hovers around the Degree in Marketing and Business Economics,” he noted.
Echoing similar sentiments to that of Semple is Vice- President of the University of Guyana’s Economics Society Joshua Pedro, who said the new programmes have proven to be a positive venture for the university, given that the institution has too often been plagued by challenges.
With regard to the Environmental Health programme, Head of the Public Health Department of the University Rev. Noel Holder, in an invited comment said the Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Health was always “lacking,” since the Associate Degree that is being offered was “limiting” the recipients in many ways.
“When you match a Degree against an Associate Degree, it provides more room for knowledge since the Associate Degree was limiting the recipients specifically in terms of remuneration as they were not getting the type of remuneration needed,” Holder said.
The Bachelor’s Degree, said Holder, is now being offered to persons entering the university just after completing high school, while persons who have completed the Associate Degree (three years) will have to do an extra year to qualify for the Degree.
“It was lacking for a long time in Guyana and we are hoping to attract students from the Caribbean as plans are in place for the programme to suit specifics in Guyana and the Caribbean,” said Holder.
Holder pointed out that the stakeholders of that Department of the university, who are the Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), were supportive of the start of the programme.
This newspaper understands that officials at the university of Guyana are currently hosting discussion sessions on implementing other programmes that are in demand and are being offered at other universities in the Caribbean. (Shivanie Sugrim)