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Is the UG student getting the best value for money?

Sep 30, 2012 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

Attending university is a significant investment and like any other investment, the person making the investment would be looking to get maximum returns on what he or she puts in. A university student not only pays the relevant fees but would have to purchase textbooks (not pirated hopefully), notebooks, other stationary, transportation to and from campus, time to attend classes, time to study, time for research and assignments. Very often the student couples attending classes with work and in some instances, the student is not given time-off from work to attend classes so he/she is very often rushing in to classes late or just in the nick of time. All of this adds up to a significant investment for the student. It is therefore only natural that the student would expect something worthwhile and tangible at the end of the time put in to get that diploma or degree.
As employees or prospective employees, we make that investment in higher education so we can be more competitive. We expect that after all the sacrifice and hard work our reward will be not only a document that confers on us a Degree in some area of study but more importantly it will also say to employers, here is a person who will be of benefit to your company or organization. Do employers have that confidence in a graduate from the University of Guyana and to what extent is that confidence demonstrated?
Let us look at how we compare with applicants who are graduates from other universities when seeking a job. Let us say there is an opening at a manufacturing company for a Business Executive, someone with management qualification. Three persons with similar job experience and qualification apply, one from the University of Guyana, one from University of the West Indies and the third from an American University. We do not need scientific research to conclude that the employer will mentally least favour the graduate from the University of Guyana. This has nothing to do with the ability of the graduate or the grades he/she has received. It is subjective to the way the university is perceived. While we acknowledge that the University of Guyana has produced some outstanding students in its time, we must accept that of recent, the University status has declined and we must question the reason behind this.
Are UG graduates getting the best value for their investment? Given what the student puts in into acquiring a degree and the value of that degree on the regional and international market, it is doubtful that the US student is getting the best value for his/her investment.
This must not be seen as a critique of the lecturers or administrative staff of the University but more of the policy makers who ultimately determine the status of the university. Let us be clear, we believe that those lecturers who stay on and continue to lecture year after year in the deplorable conditions that exist at UG must be commended.
The University of Guyana needs drastic overhaul starting with the Council and a massive influx of funds to provide visual aids, renovate buildings, equip labs, provide 21st century technology and provide other critical aids and resources that every modern day university now has access to.
To develop the University of Guyana, we need to take the politics out of the policy making and allow academia to be at the helm. The present situation where government and its cronies control not only what funds are given to the university but also what policies guide the university is a recipe that ensures a singular way of thinking – that of the PPP. We need to take away that control from the government. Let us look around the region… there are examples at Cave Hill and Mona of what can be done to make a university work in the best interest of the student.
Government’s investment in the university is an investment to ensure development.

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