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‘UG has made strides, but much work remains’ — outgoing VC Paloma Mohamed
Kaieteur News) – Although the University of Guyana has recorded notable progress under the leadership of its first female Vice Chancellor, Paloma Mohamed, she says the institution’s transformation is far from complete.
In an interview with Kaieteur News, Professor Mohamed reflected on the achievements of the past seven years while acknowledging that critical work remains to be done, particularly in expanding infrastructure, strengthening research capacity and modernising key systems.
Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Dr. Paloma Mohamed
She said, “That would be my deepest wish. I want everything to succeed and do better than when I was here. That’s the only way to know that you have succeeded. That the work of you and your team has not been in vain.”
To this end, the Vice Chancellor explained that the University needs more dorms if it is to truly deliver on one of the Blueprint 2024 goals of at least one graduate per household. While expanding to the various regions across the country can reduce the pressures of travelling on students, more and better equipped dorm spaces are a must. Accommodation for staff is also needed according to Dr. Mohamed who explained that just a few spaces were allocated which are always filled and are in need of repairs. “So, we need to expand those by 200-fold or something,” she said in highlighting the urgency of the matter.
Furthermore, the Vice Chancellor explained that one of the things she hopes for is a new library soon, citing the existence of other issues such as parking and the need for self – flushing toilets at the University. “Our toilets are not self-flushing and even though we increased the number of staff and the number of cleanings, the state of those toilets sometimes that human beings have to deal with…in an age like this is most distressing to me. We really do need to have some toilets that are self-flushing…except for the new medical school, we have about two hundred of them – all are manual flush. Our custodial staff and students should not have to deal with that. It’s a pet peeve,” she noted.
Beyond modernising infrastructure works, the VC pointed to upgrading classrooms, labs and some of the curricula as well as the need for more funds to facilitate deeper research by university staff and students. She explained, “Research funding was the first thing that was cut when I came here in 2007 as a young lecturer –19 years ago…it didn’t come back until about two or three years ago, when we made a concerted decision to fund and support the architecture for research through the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics Professor Emanuel Cummings; so that really curtailed the kind of innovation we could do – not that we are not doing research, but the scale is really too small.”
There are hundreds of research projects completed by the University and several research institutes established to this end, however, Dr. Mohamed believes these can be monetized and scaled up. UG research and innovation hub founded last year can be found online at: https://researchandinnovation.uog.edu.gy/.
Dr. Paloma Mohamed has opted not to renew her contract for a third term after serving the University for 19 years and as Vice Chancellor of the University for two consecutive three-year terms since June 2020. Prior to her official appointment, she served as Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Philanthropy and Chair of the Transition Management Committee following the departure of the then VC in 2019.
Dr. Mohamed clarified that she will return to former pursuits of research and teaching when her Vice Chancellor’s contract ends in a few months. The Vice Chancellor says the focus must now be on “finding the very best successor to carry the institution to even greater heights.”
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