UG responds to Private Sector’s constant criticism

Jul 01, 2011 News

“The private sector has been consistently critical of the University of Guyana (UG), its standards and the quality of its graduates, but has never come on board with sufficient major financial or material support,” says Al Creighton, Dean, School of Education and Humanities.
Creighton made those remarks yesterday at the institution’s Research Day, held at the Education Lecture Theatre, Turkeyen Campus.
He, however, acknowledged that there are a small number of large companies that have been close partners and supportive of the institution.
Creighton emphasized that, “In general, the private sector has not responded in major ways to improve the faults that they find in UG in a way that corporate industry does in foreign universities. Yet the private sector benefits tremendously from the skills provided by UG graduates.”
He indicated that migration is a key factor for the absence of skills in the workforce and not the University’s fault.
The university produces sufficient numbers and satisfactory quality in many areas, but these are creamed off on an annual basis by migration.
According to Professor Lawrence Carrington, Vice-Chancellor, “it is appropriate for us to recognize the importance of a private sector as a potential supporter for research in universities. Making business profitable can require developing a competitive edge over other enterprises in any field.”
He posited that research and development is one of the prime areas in which higher education can offer important service and advantage to the private sector.
However, there are risks when business enterprises become supporters of academic research. The history of research offers adequate caution about how over-specification of use of funds, and of conditions of access to funds, can jeopardize institutional autonomy and undermine probity in the expression of opinion and the outcomes of research, Carrington stated.
He added that, “The boundaries of academic autonomy have to be clearly established and protected regardless of the attractiveness of the inducements that support the work that the institution might wish to do.”
At this year’s Annual General Meeting of the Private Sector Commission it was stated that the University needs upgrading and transformation so that it can provide the skills needed for new industries.
New industries require new skills in strategy, management, technical support; information technology, research and marketing, science and technology, and most of all Human Resources development.

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UG responds to Private Sector’s constant criticism

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