The myth that is UG

Oct 30, 2013 Letters

Dear Editor,
In the October 1, 2013 edition of Kaieteur News, columnist Frederick Kissoon highlighted a rather unfortunate state of affairs at the University of Guyana, our top learning institution. He lamented the woeful mind-set of students; the lack of interest in anything except to bear up and bide their time until graduation day comes, after which they will be departing–going abroad.
The very reason why, as he mentioned “less than twenty percent (20 per cent) of the student population voted in their just concluded students’ elections. According to Kissoon the World Bank has the migration figure of Guyanese with tertiary education at 82 per cent! This behaviour of graduate students from our top learning institution has become a trend and indeed reason for concern.
So right is Kissoon: “University students are university students in whichever country you find them except Guyana.” UG Students here over the past twenty years and more have given a completely different twist, label, colouring and meaning to this higher environment/place of learning called university; a docile, feeble bunch/gathering of self-concern hustlers with narrow/wide but personal desire. University the world over are generally thought of as “hot beds of sedition”.
And why not? Why shouldn’t that place that is seen as the pinnacle of learning not rock the boat; not cause the seat of government some sleepless nights; not have them on their P’s and Q’s every once in a while. After all we are talking here university, not high school! But UG today has lost its glow, that awesomeness — a lurking, latent volcanic intimidation that keeps the status quo on edge.
Careful, I’m saying that higher learning is an essential, an indispensable requirement for the advancement of any society.
However, what we see flaunted today is an overbearing egotistic sense of pride, a misguided and “dangerous self-importance.” You see and hear it every day ad nauseam; that dignified high-tone utterance: “I’m attending UG.” You’ll believe it’s the end of the world — respect to the motley exceptions.
Truth be told, almost everyone attending UG does so with the dollar sign constantly flashing before his eyes. Aren’t we beseeched daily with the mantra; “Education is the key to success”? I recall about four years ago in response to a UG valedictorian, who in her presentation bemoaned the situation of her fellow graduates and called for an “enabling environment to bring about a sense hopefulness among graduates. She said that the past has been strewn with intelligent and qualified graduates emigrating to greener pastures merely to earn a decent living. Graduates need well-paying jobs to stay here.
And in response to the valedictorian lamenting the exodus of graduates I wrote: Rest assured that once this trend continues in the next ten or twenty years, each succeeding graduating batch will be echoing your sentiments about their state of affairs. Only by then it will be worse.
Of course that letter ruffled some, but lo and behold, it is the exact same thing that prevails today. If UG “doesn’t change direction, it will end up just where it is heading”, and it had better hurry lest it becomes unaccountable among universities — the necrotic institution of higher learning.
Frank Fyffe

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