Uncertainty about students’ loans could result in shutdown – UG Vice Chancellor

Aug 14, 2014 News

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Early this year it was the Staff Union and Association threatening to shutdown the University of Guyana to retaliate a proposal by Vice Chancellor, Professor Jacob Opadeyi, to halt all programmes that were not financially feasible. However, it was the Vice Chancellor himself yesterday making similar threats during a press conference held in the Education Lecture Theatre.

His contention was that the University which has an estimated $450 million debt simply will not be able to function without needed funds channeled through disbursements from the Ministry of Finance’s Student Loan Agency.
And according to Professor Opadeyi, even as a new academic year nears, the University is faced with uncertainty in relation to access to students’ loans, although there were adequate consultations with the Ministry of Finance regarding a hike in the tuition fee.
The new academic year is slated to commence next month.
The University recently announced a hike in its fee, which is intended to realize an adjustment to the US$1,000 tuition fee. Up to last year students were paying $127,000 per academic year.
But speaking at the press conference yesterday, UG Bursar, Ms Holda Poonai, informed that based on the approval of the University Council at its last meeting, the increase in the tuition fee will commence this semester. She informed that the fee for new students will be $160,000 per academic year while the continuing students will be required to pay $130,000.
She pointed out that while a miscellaneous fee was charged in the past, all students will now be expected to pay a Facilities Fee of $50,000 per academic year.
The forum was also attended by the University’s Registrar, Mr Vincent Alexander, who offered a detailed explanation of the purpose of the Facilities Fee.
“Up until this afternoon the students’ loan office is not able to make a statement whether students loans are available to students or not…,” said the Vice Chancellor, who pointed out that this is particularly disturbing in light of the fact that registration has started.
“This may impact on our ability to actually go into operation for this academic year…As you are aware, we are a University that lives month by month; we depend on tuition (fees) and subvention to cover our expenses,” said Professor Opadeyi as he highlighted that the University that has campuses at Turkeyen and Tain, Berbice, has substantial liabilities.
In addition to meeting the costs of providing security to its campuses, he noted that funding is also needed to settle utility expenses.
He therefore speculated that “We will (have to) close down the University for a year…because if we have no students who can pay fees, then we will have no students to teach and we will have the liability of lecturers to receive payment every month, so it might be useful for us to shut down for six months or three months until funding can be made available,” said Professor Opadeyi.
When questioned whether the possibility of a shutdown was discussed, the Vice Chancellor merely informed “I am the CEO (Chief Executive Officer).”
According to him, the administration of the University was optimistic that it would have started to receive tuition fees this month to enable it to address some of its liabilities but “today on the 13th of August, to know that there is this uncertainty, we are uncomfortable with it.”
But although the students accessing loans at the University last year constituted a mere 40 per cent of the student population, the Vice Chancellor yesterday informed that it would not be feasible to operate the University with merely the fees from the paying majority.
“We will not run a class because 60 per cent can pay and 40 per cent cannot pay…we have to be serious if we want to run a University or not; this is not a rum shop we are running!” said Professor Opadeyi.
He pointed out that any good management would seek to ensure that students are able to receive the resources they pay for.
“If only 10 students pay, would you run the University on that or do you tell them ‘please don’t bother to pay because we cannot run the University’?” questioned Professor Opadeyi.
He went on to note that regardless if the University is opened or closed, it is required to expend about $11 million each month as overheads. He pointed out that the University is further strained by the additional expenses incurred to run programmes that are “a drain on our resources.”
He noted that even with the paying students, the University will not be able to survive because of the fixed costs which include the salary of lecturers. And according to the Vice Chancellor, the payment of salaries “is not based on the numbers of enrolment at all.”
“We have to take a bold step and (ask the question), do we have money to run this University this year or not? If we don’t…we shut it down; if we do we open it,” said the Vice Chancellor as he noted that a shutdown could be enacted by the second semester.
And the appeal from the University of Guyana Student Society (UGSS) is that the relevant authority be responsive to the question of Students’ loan. This is according to Acting UGSS President, Joshua Griffith, who at the press conference yesterday, made a point of amplifying that the situation will not only affect students at both campuses.
“It is not a position that students would like to be in – this level of uncertainty,” added Griffith.
Reports from Government officials suggest that the fee issue is one that is gaining the attention of Cabinet.

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