President calls on private sector to support education

Sep 19, 2014 News

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…as refurbished Internet Resource Centre commissioned

By Sharmain Grainger

Farsighted and far-thinking were the adjectives used by President Donald Ramotar to

describe the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) as he delivered brief remarks at a ceremony to commission the refurbished Internet Resource Centre at the University of Guyana yesterday.
The Resource Centre, situated within the Centre for Information Technology (CIT), attracted works to the tune of $20 Million, an undertaking that was financed by the Telephone Company based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with the University in April.
Based on the agreement, GT&T will expend a total of $60 Million to maintain the Centre over a three-year period. The major investment represents a continuation of the support the Telephone Company has been offering to the tertiary institution over the years.
And according to President Ramotar, in his remarks to a gathering outside the Resource Centre building yesterday, he is pleased to be involved with such an undertaking which coincides with, and complements efforts of his Government, in working to improve the facilities of the University.
He made reference to a number of projects that are currently on stream at the University, including a world class centre for biodiversity studies as well as works to improve science and technology programmes. He also alluded to the move by Government to increase the loans offered to students to match the University’s hiked tuition fees, pointing out that “we do hope that those resources will go towards improving the quality and more capital works at the University of Guyana.”
Turning his attention back to the support from GT&T, he intimated that it was a “happy coincidence” that it is occurring even as the institution celebrates 50 years of existence, and equally auspicious, that it is during Education Month.
In his deliberation to the gathering, which included Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, the Head of State underscored that the countries of the world that have developed the most are in fact the ones that have a high level of education. He however observed that some of the poorest countries are those with the most natural resources, even as he noted that the inevitable conclusion is that the most important factor for development is the human capital.
It is for this reason, he said, that “we have to build the human capital if we are going to advance in this century that we are in, and if our economy is to go forward with the speed that it potentially has, we have to develop the human capital.”
Moreover, the President gave assurances that “that is where our emphasis has always been – developing the human capital…”  He boasted that any perusal of the ruling administration’s budgets over the years will reveal that the greatest amounts of funds are allocated to the social sector, which benefits the masses. This course of action, the President added, coincides with the philosophy that human beings are the most important factor for development.
“I am therefore extremely pleased that we have far-sighted, far-thinking companies like GT&T that have recognised this, and that are also making an investment,” said the President.

He went on to note that while the country as a whole benefits from investments to the University in terms of the building of capacity, the private sector also enjoys enormous benefits from a more educated, more technologically-equipped and scientifically-oriented workforce. And it is the President’s belief that it was perhaps in recognition of this that GT&T decided to take on the task of continuing its investment into institutions such as the country’s main University.
He therefore expressed optimism yesterday that the contributions of the Telephone Company will be emulated by other companies, even as he pointed out that “in doing so they will be reviving a tradition that started at the very beginning of the University of Guyana.”
The President was at the time alluding to the fact that there were two companies involved in the granting of scholarships during the early days of the University.
“It was clearly recognised then by the young and budding private sector that institutions like this are important and worthy of supporting so that we can allow them to meet their potential and to discharge their functions of educating our young people to be much more productive and creative…”
As such, the President in congratulating the contributions of GT&T expressed optimism that “they (GT&T) too will benefit from this as well as other private sector companies; and I hope that this example will become infectious and catch on in the private sector, and that we can look for more support and partnership in improving the facilities at this institution.”
Even as he chronicled the genesis of the support to the University, GT&T Chief Executive Officer, Radha Krishna Sharma, disclosed that his company had over the last decade partnered and contributed to various aspects of the university’s programmes.
While its initial contribution to the Resource Centre a few years ago amounted to the sum of $10 million in equipment and high-speed internet, the company to date continues to facilitate and provide technical requirement to host the University’s GY domain.
And GT&T, according to Sharma, has also over the years partnered with the University to provide five annual scholarships for studies in the field of technology and natural science.
“We at GT&T reviewed our contribution to the various sectors of our social economy and we felt that the support to this premier education institution should be a priority as we recognise that education is pivotal in moulding the minds of young people, in developing the intellect and academic skills to pave the way for entry into the workforce and a better quality of life,” said Sharma.
In detailing the extent of the current support to the University, he revealed that the refurbishment of the Resource Centre entailed the replacement of 57 computers and the provision of additional equipment to enhance the delivery and distribution of the bandwidth offered.
Meanwhile, in highlighting the fact that the Telephone Company’s support was unsolicited, Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Jacob Opadeyi, disclosed that it was on April 30, 2014, that the University inked an agreement with the Telephone Company to sponsor the extensive laboratory works. According to him, since he assumed the position of Vice Chancellor, “I signed over 20 agreements, and this is the first time that I am seeing the fruits of those agreements.”
He disclosed that while the agreement with GT&T has five elements, already three have been delivered, emphasising the commitment of the Telephone Company.
And even as the Vice Chancellor yesterday assured that the University will take full advantage of the sizeable support, he made an earnest appeal to President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Lance Hinds, who was at the time sitting in the audience, to advocate for more private sector investment in the University.

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