UGSS President says tuition fee should be incremental

May 28, 2014 News

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– insists students should not be ostracised

Anything outside of an incremental increase of tuition fee at the University of Guyana (UG) is “unfair” and “unreasonable”, according to President of the University of Guyana Student Society (UGSS), Richard Rambarran.

In an invited comment, Rambarran told this publication that he will “vehemently reject any ‘adjustment’ to the fee that would see us (students) paying the full amount.”
Two years ago, the University’s Council took a decision to have the tuition fee adjusted to correspond with the rate of the United States dollar.  In 1994 the fee was pegged at US$1,000 which at the time converted to G$127,000. The implementation of an adjustment to the fee now could see it being hiked to as much as G$210,000.
But according to Rambarran, it is the view of the UGSS that “it would be overwhelmingly unfair for the current crop of students to have to face the brunt of this increase.”
Furthermore, he insisted that “no student should be ostracised from the completion of their University of Guyana education at this point, due to the historic inability of the governing group to facilitate an arrangement and broker a deal, for which they will now have to face.”
Moreover, Rambarran disclosed that the UGSS is proposing that a method of gradualism be implemented to allow for an easy transitioning to the hiked fee. Added to this, he said that consideration should be given by the University’s administration for current students who are faced with financial difficulties.
“They (the administration) have expressed to me that an open mind is being kept with regards to this and student consultation will be held so as to determine the modality that will be employed,” Rambarran intimated.
He disclosed that the UGSS since 2009 has kept an open mind with regards to the increase in the tuition fee.
He also pointed out that currently the University is in such a dire position that the financial constraints which it faces oftentimes filter down to students in many forms; the most eminent being the quality of service received and the state of some available facilities.
According to him, it has been no secret that the UG staff has been calling for an improvement in their salaries for quite some time, and the UGSS is even aware that what is currently being paid by students at the University is well below the market price for what is received.
However, the real concern of the UGSS, he said, is the methodology employed, in which this increase will happen.
“The failure of the University’s governing body (Council and Administration) over the years to broker an arrangement of a method of small incremental increases in the tuition has now, at this juncture, left us in a predicament whereby we have to play ‘catch up’ to what should have been done years ago.”
Rambarran, in his capacity as UGSS President, said that he has been able to discuss with the outgoing Pro-Chancellor, Dr Prem Misir, and Vice Chancellor, Professor Jacob Opadeyi, that the current crop of students must not now be forced to pay for something that should have happened many years ago.
“If it had been done correctly, it would have alleviated the impact of a sudden hike we are now purported to be faced with,” said Rambarran, who has also shared his concerns with the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) and the University of Guyana Workers’ Union (UGWU).
Although information coming out of the University is that extensive consultations with stakeholders will be held before any adjustment of the fee is done, UGSSA President, Dr Pat Francis, said that “what I am fearful of is that these consultations are going on…but the real consultation, that one hasn’t happened. When will that happen?”
She is concerned that the process of consultations may very well target selected students who are likely to readily agree to whatever is proposed.
“I am very wary of this consultation. Let us get away from this pussy-footing of this consultation; let us get to the meat of the matter and the meat of the matter is that the University cannot function with the current arrangements.”
Dr Francis has therefore recommended that arrangements be put in place that are reasonable for the University that have a social conscience and “no one will be able to say nay to that.”
Since the members of the UGWU and UGSSA are not opposed to the adjustment of the fee, UGSSA Vice President, Dr Mellissa Ifill, is convinced that moves should be made to embrace a principle whereby students are required to pay a part of the fee and the State subsidizes the remainder.
This, according to Dr Ifill, is what obtains at some universities, including the University of the West Indies.
Her disclosure, in this regard, comes even as concerns heighten at the recent move by the parliamentary opposition to disapprove the $450 million allocated to the Ministry of Finance-controlled Loan Agency. The Loan Agency has been the primary means of financial support to students who are unable to immediately pay their tuition fee.
It has been vocalized by Vice Chancellor of the University that a number of students could be faced with a crisis come next academic year if the loans are unavailable.
Moreover, Dr Ifill stressed the need for mechanisms to be put in place to assist students, who can ill-afford to pay their fees. This, she noted, could be done through soft loans, grants or even bursaries.
“We recognize there are students who cannot afford to come to the University who have a right to education, and so we need to put in place mechanisms to ensure that every one can afford an education at the University,” Dr Ifill asserted.

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