Director of the University of Guyana Berbice campus, Professor Gomathinayagam Subramanian
The 25-year-old University of Guyana Berbice Campus has seen a notable lack of students enrolling into the institution over the years. This was revealed by Vice Chancellor of the University Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin on Monday during the launch of the University’s Water World: Institute for Marine and Riverine Ecologies and Economics (IMAREE).
“We have a campus in Berbice that is now celebrating a big anniversary. It’s 25 years this year, and it is a campus that has not been attracting as many people as we want to see in Berbice,” she explained.
In an effort to delve into the situation Guyana Times on Wednesday spoke with the Director of the University of Guyana Berbice campus professor Gomathinayagam Subramanian, who explained that whilst enrollment levels were low in the past this year enrolment levels are steadily increasing due to initiatives being implemented by the institution.
“The enrollment now is increasing, we started very low but it is okay now so we are seeing more students coming into the institution compared to previous` years. Currently we are conducting outreach exercises within the Berbice area to further increase the population,” he explained.
University of Guyana Berbice campus
Moreover, the director attributed the level of enrolment to students preferring to conduct their studies at the University’s Turkeyen campus in Georgetown, however he noted that the two institutes have identical curriculums.
“One of the reasons is because the children they want to get away from their parents, they don’t want to stay with their parents. A lot of parents call me, we offer the same programmes here in Berbice. But they want to be In Georgetown that’s the intention” he stated.
Meanwhile, in an effort to further push enrollment at the University’s Berbice Campus, the institute has identified ways in which they can achieve this goal. One way highlighted was to exclusively offer several disciplines at the Berbice campus. As such students who wish to study topics in the field of marine biology will now have to attend the classes at the university’s Berbice campus where the Institute for Marine and Riverine Ecologies and Economics (IMAREE) was strategically built.
According to the Vice Chancellor, this new institute in Berbice aims to educate some 500 persons over the next four years in the areas of Marine Biology, Law, Engineering, Port Security and Port Management, biotech, aqua biotech among others.
These initiatives align with the university’s goal of ensuring that in every household across the country by 2040 at least one person must be a university graduate.
Additionally, the new Institute for Marine and Riverine Ecologies and Economics (IMAREE) is the only institute in the world that combines studying water with the economics of the areas these waters occupy. The institute will offer a wide range of programmes to citizens: Undergraduate Programmes include a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology; Diploma in international shipping and logistics; Bachelor of Science in Port Management; Bachelor of Science in Marine Biotechnology. Other Programmes under consideration are Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation; Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering; Bachelor of Science in Coastal, Riverine and Ocean Management; Bachelor of Science in Port Security; Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Law; Master’s Degree in Maritime Law; Master of Science in Marine Biology in Marine Biotechnology.
