DUE to the unprecedented circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Guyana (UG) has taken a decision to push back the first day of classes for the new semester to November 2, 2020.

The previously announced date was October 12, 2020, but the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin confirmed the date change on October 3, 2020.
In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, she explained that the University has been working assiduously to ensure that students have the best and most effective service during this period. To this end, it had hosted several discussions on solutions to the specific issues that have arisen during this period.

The Vice-Chancellor noted that while the University has worked to maintain its scheduled timeline, there were circumstances that prevented this. She said one major issue that arose is the backlog of student admissions in the wake of thousands of documents pouring into the Registry from feeder institutions. Professor Mohamed-Martin said that after receiving this information, an emergency meeting was held in the evening of October 2, 2020 with the University’s Academic Board to discuss a way forward.
She explained that although additional resources were provided, and the processing hours extended, the appearance of some examination results and the need for document verifications have created a backlog of over 2600 applications as of October 2.

Further, the Vice-Chancellor noted that despite the COVID-19 conditions, this year has seen the largest number of student applicants ever; almost 7000 just one day after its 57th anniversary.
Just over 3000 of the 7000 applicants would have received a response from the University.

Professor Mohamed-Martin said if the University had stuck to the original commencement date, this would have disadvantaged those prospective students whose applications are now being processed. This situation would have caused them to join classes several weeks late. She stated that such a situation would be contrary to the University’s value of fair, equitable and robust delivery of tertiary education to Guyana.
The Registrar, Dr. Nigel Gravesande endorsed addressing this by adopting the new dates for this semester, including November 2, 2020, as the first day of classes.

ONLINE CLASSES
Meanwhile, the University, in a statement, explained how it plans to operate in the new semester. “65% of the University’s classes will be held Online, and the remaining 35%, mostly consisting of laboratory and field exercises, are expected to be Blended and Face-to-Face delivered at the various campuses for specific courses, or parts of courses only,” it explained.
The statement added: “The University is in the process of putting all contagion protection protocols and physical arrangements in place to address this. Students will be notified directly of the schedule and safety measures if any of their courses are expected to be face-to- face.”

MIXED REACTION
The response from students to the announcement of the new commencement date was mixed; some students were supportive of the University’s decision, while others were raising concerns with the shift in timeline, and how that could potentially affect their academic careers.

Third Year student from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Deborah Baird called the date adjustment “inconvenient”. She explained that this shift could negatively affect those students who have already put systems in place to facilitate this semester’s work.
Baird added that this shift in timeline could also potentially see students who will be entering their final year not being able to access their degree qualification on time, to make deadlines in pursuit of further studies.

Additionally, she opined that the University has not been communicating with its students effectively enough to make them feel comfortable with its preparedness, planning and implementation of systems that would ensure this semester runs smoothly.
Another student, Kristoff Shepperd stated that while he was looking forward to the semester starting on October 12, he believes the new date will give him more time to prepare mentally for the semester. He said he believes it could be beneficial to many other students, as it would be providing them with extra time to pull together all of the necessary resources that they may need for the semester.

Speaking to his fellow students, he said that he believes they should be supportive of the move. “We all have to understand that we are in a pandemic, and the University is doing all that they can to aid us in still perusing higher education, while combatting the COVID pandemic. So we shouldn’t be complaining about the things that they are doing; we should at least offer advice on what we think should be done better,” he expressed.

BE SUPPORTIVE
The Guyana Chronicle reached out to the University of Guyana Student Society (UGSS) President Jafar Gibbon, who said that he believes the decision to push back the date is in the best interest of the students.

He stated that he understands that the push back is to ensure that systems are in place for a smooth transition this semester. He further called on his fellow students to be supportive of the University’s administration in this present time, since the COVID pandemic has presented them with issues that have not arisen before.
Speaking to students who may feel frustrated in this period due to the timeline change, the UGSS President said, “Most naturally, the postponement of any event would have students fearful, and they would have that outcry to raise their concerns.”

However, he added “We also have to understand that the administration has to put systems in place that will protect the students, so if it means postponing to a later date, that may be what’s best. The university needs to be operating where it can better serve students, so if it means pushing back the timeline to ensure that they can deliver those services provided by them, I think that’s justifiable.”

Regarding the negotiation with the administration that could potentially see students benefitting from a reduction or total cut of the University’s Miscellaneous Fees for the 2020-2021 academic year, he said no decision has been made.

The proposal which was submitted is seeking a reduction of $30,000, for the 2020-2021 academic year. This would allow students to pay a $10,000 miscellaneous fee per semester, as opposed to the previously fixed $25,000 per semester.