THE South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) and the University of Guyana (UG) recently held several discussions for the establishment of an annexe in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), and toshaos have since identified an area at Aishalton where the learning institution could be built.

Speaking recently to the Guyana Chronicle via telephone, SRDC member and Aishalton’s toshao, Michael Thomas disclosed that several village leaders had raised concerns about the increasing number of tertiary students from the district who were unable to complete their studies due to various circumstances.

“There are difficulties hinterland students face when we have to move from our homeland to Georgetown for long periods of time like three to four years, not only for UG but CPCE [Cyril Potter College of Education], and GTI [Guyana Technical Institute],” Thomas explained.

At a regional toshao’s conference held last month in the district, it was Thomas who suggested that the Council explore the option of establishing an annexe in the region.

“We had a regional toshao conference where, again, the education department was really concerned about that, and asked that the toshaos see how best we can support our students, and encourage them to complete their programmes, especially at the University of Guyana,” he said.

He went on to explain that many indigenous men and women face challenges when they have to travel to complete their tertiary education.

For women in particular, it can be very hard, Thomas said.

“For example,” he said, “we have teachers that would have started a family and have young children, and they have to leave their children home, and you know that distance, it makes them quit sometimes.”

Following the conference, several toshaos met with the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Paloma Mohamed in Georgetown.

“We were able to meet with her, and we stated what we had to offer, because over the past three years, the village council had received multiple requests to have research conducted from different universities around the world in our village and the surrounding villages also.”

A subsequent meeting was held in the village of Aishalton, where the Vice-Chancellor and several other officials from the university earmarked a location at Maoka Taawa to build the facility, which they hope will accommodate lecturers and students in the near future.

“We have enough land space, and it is within our titled land, and we the village council manage our own land,” Thomas told this publication.

According to Thomas, there had been talks in the past about establishing an annexe in Lethem, which is the region’s central town. However, the availability of land was said to be an issue.

The university was established on October 1, 1963, following the assenting of the University of Guyana Ordinance on April 18, 1963.

Its doors were first opened on October 2, 1963, and it functioned as an evening institution, with only 164 students enrolled for classes in three faculties: Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences.

UG currently has two locations; one at Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), and an annexe at Tain, in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Persons from hinterland regions would usually migrate to Region Four to attend classes at the Turkeyen Campus.

The university offers certificate, diploma, associate degree, undergraduate degree, graduate (post-graduate) degree, and professional degree programmes.

These programmes are delivered through seven faculties and one school, each of which is headed by a Dean. These are: Agriculture and Forestry; Earth and Environmental Studies; Education and Humanities; Engineering and Technology; Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation; Health Sciences; Natural Sciences; and Social Sciences.

More than 116 under-graduate and post-graduate programmes are available, including Computer Science, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Studies, Forestry, Urban Planning and Management, Tourism Studies, Education, Creative Arts, Economics, Law, Medicine, Optometry, Supply Chain Management and Nursing.