Georgetown: President Donald Ramotar has given the assurance that the Finance Ministry is working assiduously to have issues regarding loans for University of Guyana (UG) students resolved in time for the new academic year 2014-2015.
On Thursday, UG Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jacob Opadeyi had said that if the situation of uncertainty persists, he will be forced to close down the campus in the second week of the new semester.
President Ramotar, speaking at a press conference on Friday, said the matter is under active consideration by the Cabinet and will be resolved as soon as possible.
He assured that “we are not going to allow the students unnecessary suffering”, but noted that it was the combined Opposition in Parliament that reduced UG’s 2014 budgetary allocation of $450 million to zero.
The funds that were cut from the budget were restored by the Government, for which the President and his Cabinet came in for serious flak, included $225 million for the university.
Over the years, a vast majority of the student population at the country’s premier tertiary institution have benefited from student loans and a large percentage of new entries continue to apply for this facility.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh had had earlier dismissed threats by Professor Opadeyi to close the university as reckless and premature.
“I believe the Vice-Chancellor should know the matter is currently engaging the consideration of the Cabinet. Instead of making reckless and irresponsible threats, the Vice-Chancellor would be better advised to ask the Opposition why they cut the budgetary allocation for student loans in the 2014 Budget,” Dr Singh said.
On Thursday, it was disclosed that a high level of uncertainty surrounding students’ ability to access loans currently exists, even as the Loans Department remains mum on the situation.
Dr Opadeyi said the unresponsiveness from the Loans Department and by extension the Finance Ministry could trigger a total shut down on both campuses at Turkeyen and Tain, as he alluded to Plan B.
“We will close down UG for a year, because if we have no student who can pay fees, then we will have no student to teach and then we will have the liabilities of lecturers who will have to receive salaries every month. So it will just be useful to just shut down for six months or three months,” he said.
According to him, if a favourable response is not given by the second week of the new Academic Year 2014/2015, the university will be closed, until funding can be made available to students. Questioned whether the “Plan B” was in keeping with the initial “Plan B” agreed upon by the Council, Dr Opadeyi in response said: “I am the CEO.”
Although 40 per cent of the student population acquired loans in the last academic year, this per centage is expected to significantly increase with the hike in tuition fees that will take full effect come September.
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