CONSUMER CONCERNS… INCREASE IN UG FEES AN INEVITABLE NECESSITY

Apr 09, 2017 News

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PAT DIAL
It came out in the media last week that the University of Guyana Council had decided to increase students’ tutorial fees over a three-year period by 15%, 10%, and 10%. The Students’ Association, quite understandably, came out against the proposed increase. Many students saw the proposed increase as part of the general milieu of the increases in taxes or payments to Government or semi-Governmental organizations, such as taxes being levied on private schools and educational institutions or parking meter charges.
It must be emphasized that the increases in students’ tutorial fees has absolutely no relationship to present taxation increases or payments to companies such as Smart City and their parking meters. This proposed increase has been in the books for at least the last 20 years but over the years, it was deferred year to year for one reason or another, helping to push the University on a downward spiral.
It should be pointed out that the Vice – Chancellor and the University administration have no pleasure in increasing fees. These are persons who empathize with the lot of the students since many of them, including the Vice -Chancellor himself, were students of the University. Indeed, Vice Chancellor Ivelaw Griffith was a highly successful American academic and administrator.
He could have happily remained in the United States but chose to return to Guyana at great personal sacrifice because he wished to contribute to the Guyanese nation and help to build the University into a world-class institution. And he has positively begun to move the University in that direction during the short time he assumed office.
But propelling the University upwards, even though gradually, requires a great amount of funding. The older Universities of the Developed World, especially in Europe and many in North America, accession their income from investments, donations, bequests, Foundations, earnings from consultancies, students’ fees and some State assistance. The University of Guyana depends almost wholly on Government funding since students’ fees contribute a comparatively small part of expenditure. At the present level of funding, the University would be barely able to maintain its present position and would not be able to grow and develop.
The fees at the University of the West Indies are incomparably higher than those of UG and in Europe and North America they are even higher. The student fees at UG are among the lowest in the world. So when we complain about facilities at UG being inferior to other universities, it would be enlightening to find out the fees at the places which are being compared. This does not mean that the administration of the University is complacent since they are always engaged in maintaining and upgrading standards.
For years the University had been held in the vice of non-progress and there seemed to be no chance of breaking loose from it. Since conditions could not be improved, this inhibited prospective donors from making substantial gifts such as bequests or gifts of land and company shares since there was not even the infrastructure to receive and utilize such. And so development and progress would always be stymied.
Prof Ivelaw Griffith acutely understands the doldrums the University is in but instead of throwing up his hands in despair, he decided to use constructive programmes and activism, within his financial limitations, to change the image of the University and placing it on the road to begin the long march towards the world-class institution he plans; that is the Renaissance.
For example, he has already done a great deal to bring in IT comprehensively; he has successfully brought the public to the University by extra-mural activity; the graduations are again beginning to be important national events and the media after a long silence, are beginning to give ample coverage; positive contacts with foreign universities are growing; improving the quality of staff and improved salaries are being addressed; the physical conditions of the campus is on the front burner.
Recently, he arranged for UG to have its own publishing house, a facility which every world-class university has. This achievement, like many of his others, has far-reaching implications.
Student tutorial fees being increased by 15% this year is not as burdensome as many feared and 10% for each of the next two years is lighter. These increases are fairly modest and if viewed in perspective, they are part of the march to achieving world-class.
They will also help to mollify the feelings of members of the public against students as a group who are failing to repay their student-loans which they all are able to repay. These loans run into hundreds of millions of dollars. Also, payment of the new fees will help to allay the quiet resentment of the public against the students since 80% of our graduates emigrate, giving their service to foreign countries, after they would have received an Education highly subsidized by the taxpayer. Many students now understand why they should pay the new fees.
At the moment, Guyanese society seems to be mired in constant aimless squabbling under an over-arching pessimism. Those who are interested in the progress of the University must transcend this negative milieu and grasp that the University under Prof Griffith’s leadership is an oasis of optimism and the positive moving to the realization of the Renaissance.

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