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Cabinet has said it is concerned about the gross misrepresentation and speculations surrounding the decision of the Council of the University of Guyana regarding the termination of the contract of lecturer Freddie Kissoon. Addressing the issue at his post-Cabinet news briefing yesterday, Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, maintained that it is the Council’s responsibility to release details of its decisions.
He said, “The onus is not on government or Cabinet Secretary, there is a convention of the disclosure of the Council’s business, and even though Cabinet is privy to the details of decision-making, government is privy to what transpired over the series of meetings that culminated in the appointments, reappointments and disappointments. We are also quite conversant of what the implications are of the convention; it is the Council that should speak and clarify these matters.”
In this regard, Dr. Luncheon proposed that media representatives might want to bring to bear their collective will on the Council, to ask them to clarify these matters to the satisfaction of taxpayers and the Guyanese people.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued yesterday, the Council of the University of Guyana confirmed that its members met on January 18, 2012, and among other matters, the Council considered appointments’ matters that had been referred to it by the Appointments Committee, as permitted by its statutes.
According to the statement, in determining the matters before it, the Council was guided by the university’s normal considerations, including the university’s rules on the recruitment of persons over the age of retirement, the academic qualifications of persons recommended for appointment, the academic record and performance details of the recommended persons, the proper instruction of our students, and the relative value of filling vacancies on a long-term or short-term basis.
Further, The Council of the University reminded the public that its deliberations are confidential, and that the University does not disclose information that is privileged in its relationship with its staff, applicants for employment, or other persons being considered for employment. Unofficial reports on deliberations of university committees, including the Council, must therefore be treated with appropriate caution.
Kissoon, who had been attached to the Faculty of Social Sciences for the past 26 years, received a confirmation letter on Monday, indicating that his contract was terminated last Wednesday during a council meeting.
He said, “The onus is not on government or Cabinet Secretary, there is a convention of the disclosure of the Council’s business, and even though Cabinet is privy to the details of decision-making, government is privy to what transpired over the series of meetings that culminated in the appointments, reappointments and disappointments. We are also quite conversant of what the implications are of the convention; it is the Council that should speak and clarify these matters.”
In this regard, Dr. Luncheon proposed that media representatives might want to bring to bear their collective will on the Council, to ask them to clarify these matters to the satisfaction of taxpayers and the Guyanese people.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued yesterday, the Council of the University of Guyana confirmed that its members met on January 18, 2012, and among other matters, the Council considered appointments’ matters that had been referred to it by the Appointments Committee, as permitted by its statutes.
According to the statement, in determining the matters before it, the Council was guided by the university’s normal considerations, including the university’s rules on the recruitment of persons over the age of retirement, the academic qualifications of persons recommended for appointment, the academic record and performance details of the recommended persons, the proper instruction of our students, and the relative value of filling vacancies on a long-term or short-term basis.
Further, The Council of the University reminded the public that its deliberations are confidential, and that the University does not disclose information that is privileged in its relationship with its staff, applicants for employment, or other persons being considered for employment. Unofficial reports on deliberations of university committees, including the Council, must therefore be treated with appropriate caution.
Kissoon, who had been attached to the Faculty of Social Sciences for the past 26 years, received a confirmation letter on Monday, indicating that his contract was terminated last Wednesday during a council meeting.
