THE University of Guyana (UG) has taken a bold decision to reduce its Facilities Fee by 50% for the 2020-2021academic year, the University of Guyana’s Student Society (UGSS) announced, in a statement on Wednesday.

The decision comes after months of lobbying by the UGSS to get the fee lowered, in an effort to provide some semblance of relief to students who may be going through an economic crisis in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This move by the University will see students having to ‘cough up’ just $25,000 for the Facilities Fee for the new academic year instead of the $50,000 that they are usually required to pay. This reduction in Facilities Fee will benefit all 9000 students currently registered at the institution.

The University had previously taken the position that it will allow for a reduction of $5000 per semester, a decision that was subject to much opposition from students and student society alike. Following that decision, the UGSS continued to engage the University on having the cost further reduced.

UGSS President, Jafar, who sought to remind the university’s administrators that the main aim of the UGSS is to cater to the needs of the students, said that in light of the COVID-19 situation, systems need to be put in place to ease the financial burden faced by the students.

Jafar stated that, after brainstorming ways in which it could approach the university about lowering tuition costs in general, the UGSS decided on tackling the issue of the Facilities Fee, since the students would not be having access to in-person teaching.

In lauding the University’s commitment to its students by working to facilitate the lowering of certain costs, Jafar said:
“We have an administration that not only hears you, but listens to us. And in listening to us, they also understand some of the challenges that we face as students, and they work to facilitate us as much as they can.

“The UGSS did lobby for this, for the sake of the students that make up the university, especially with the circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. So I’m happy that we were able to influence this move by the administration.”

The Facilities Fee caters to the provision of a range of resources at the university, from Laboratory, to Library, Examination and Learning Resources among other fees. Jafar said that since the students would be unable to have access to those resources, it would be unfair to ask them to pay the full cost.

Meanwhile, the university, in an earlier statement, had disclosed that 65% of its classes will be held online, while 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.

In closing, the institution noted: “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.”