Education Minister commits to developing UG

Education Minister, Priya Manickchand on Friday reaffirmed that the Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin will be supported to elevate the level of education offered at the tertiary institution.
This comes in light of clarifications from the media, as to whether Government will be removing the VC from her post. However, the minister said Mohamed-Martin was elected through provisions in a University of Guyana Act. These questions were raised in light of concerns from a cross section of the population about the University being politicised.
As such, the Minister said, Mohamed-Martin was elected as Vice Chancellor by a process.
She however, emphasised that the Vice Chancellor should be aware of the concerns which are circulating among key stakeholders. For this, it should be taken into account when moving forward.
“I don’t think Dr Mohamed can be unaware of how concerned people are about the University becoming politicised. I expect that she’s going to take that into consideration moving forward,” Manickchand said.
These concerns birthed after the VC appointment was made when the APNU/AFC coalition was in caretaker mode. It was compounded after raising affiliations of Mohamed-Martin, which questioned her objectivity.
In early June, the University of Guyana’s Council has announced that the year-long search for the Institution’s 11th Vice Chancellor had ended. Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin was appointed in the respective capacity and she is the first female to hold that position in the University’s 57-years of existence.