by Ravin Singh

OUTGOING Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG), Professor Jacob Opadeyi has deemed his three controversial years at the institution as “very successful,” despite it being marred with protests and routine strikes. According to Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Dr. Barbara Reynolds on Wednesday last at a press conference held at UG, Opadeyi’s three-year contract officially ends on February 15, and subsequently, a new Vice Chancellor will be installed.
And speaking to the media yesterday at the launch of the university’s transformational task force, the Vice Chancellor noted that he has not been asked, nor did he apply for the position which was advertised.
But what was surprising, was the fact that Opadeyi has no clue when his contract was coming to an end. When questioned yesterday by the media, as to when his contract expires, he responded by saying “I don’t know… I think my secretary should know.”
“I have served my three years with excellence and it’s time to move on,” he said, adding that he feels great that the Government did not renew his contract.
Quizzed further on what he thinks of his tenure, Opadeyi confidently boasted that he deems it to be “very successful,” and that he will soon publish a list of 33 things that he has been able to achieve during his stay at UG. “Several of these [things] for the first time, the University had not even think of doing,” he stated.
One of these accomplishments, he disclosed, was the introduction of a PhD programme at the University, which he said was the first to be introduced under his watch.
In January of 2015, UG experienced a delay in the commencement of the new semester, after students protested the deplorable conditions which they were forced to face despite paying $50,000 facility fees annually.
This was coupled with strikes by workers at the institution who were, according to them, being treated unfairly. These strikes had been fueled by the administration’s refusal to increase, and in some cases pay salaries on time, for academic and non-academic staff.
And having described this as “a good experience”, Opadeyi stated that his family was most affected by this, and had elections not been forthcoming, then those events would not have been featured at the university that year.
“The politics transferred to the University… the protest to improve the university is long overdue. The facilities need to be improved, but closing down the University is uncalled for and we got nothing out of it,” he stated.