THE University of Guyana Foundation (UGF) was recently launched with the objective of creating a substantial long-term endowment fund for the institution. Currently, the university gets most of its funding by way of government subvention and student-fees but the financial allocation to the university is still lagging behind what is required to transform the university into a centre of excellence, both in terms of teaching and research profile.

Established in 1963 under the PPP administration, the university is today the premier tertiary institution with campuses at Turkeyen, Georgetown and Tain, Berbice. It was the brain-child of former President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, aimed at meeting the human resources needs of the country which was still at the time under British colonial rule. There were many who were critical of the establishment of the university but the visionary ideas of Dr. Jagan and the PPP prevailed in the end, and the University of Guyana remains one of the flagship projects undertaken by the PPP Government. The then PNC opposition dubbed the university as “Jagan Night School” as many of the courses initially were done in the evenings to facilitate working students.

Prior to the establishment of the University of Guyana, only a limited number of students benefitted from university education. These included those students who benefitted from the limited number of government scholarships or those with financial means to study at universities abroad. Most of the managerial and technical skills to meet the developmental needs of the colony had to be procured from overseas at much cost to the government. The establishment of the university can therefore be seen as the first attempt by the PPP administration to democratise tertiary education, which became available to all Guyanese who met the eligibility criteria.

To say that the university has done well since its establishment in 1963 would be an understatement. The university has surpassed all reasonable expectations since its establishment and has broadened its course offerings over the decades to include several post-graduate studies. Thousands of Guyanese have graduated in a wide range of disciplines including law and medicine. Over 50,000 persons graduated from the university since its establishment, most of whom have gone on to serve at the highest levels, both nationally and internationally. This year, alone over 2,200 students graduated from the university in over 50 academic disciplines, a significant injection of human resources to propel the transformative developmental programmes currently underway.

Under the previous PNC administration, the university was badly under-resourced both in terms of money and staffing. Many of the buildings were in a state of disrepair. It was not uncommon for classes to be suspended during heavy downpours due to leaking roofs. Basic furniture was in short supply and the general sanitary conditions left much to be desired. And to add insult to injury, the PNC-dominated governing council took actions to deny employment to qualified Guyanese who were perceived to be critical of the regime. Notable among those were Dr. Walter Rodney, a brilliant historian who was eventually assassinated for standing up against the Burnham dictatorship.

The PPP/C administration has recognised the importance of tertiary education and has been putting significant sums of money to upgrade the physical infrastructure of the university and the quality of its teaching and research. The majority of students access student loans provided by the government under the Student Revolving Loan Agency. Regrettably, a significant number of students fail to honour loan repayments upon graduation which puts the agency under severe financial stress.

The administration must be commended for seeking to garner additional funding through extra-budgetary means. As pointed out by the Vice-Chancellor of the university, the institution needed to raise funds through its own efforts and notwithstanding the government’s subventions and student-fees, there still remains a significant funding gap in its financial needs.

And, as observed by Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, the university is ideally positioned to have a transformational impact on the lives of Guyanese and further the country’s ability to meet its developmental objectives.

President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali had indicated that in an attempt to further democratise tertiary education, his administration is working to provide free university education and to create a 21st century education system in the country.  The University of Guyana is earmarked to benefit this year from $3.5B to meet the operational costs of its two campuses and to facilitate an expansion of its online scholarships in keeping with the President Ali’s mandate to accelerate the development of the country’s human capital.