Relief for the young legal minds of Guyana

Dear Editor,
Please allow me some space in your letter columns to commend His Excellency the President of Guyana, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, and his government for the remarkable strides they are making in making education accessible, affordable, and attainable for every Guyanese person.
Guyana is being transformed before our eyes, and to sustain this trajectory of growth and inclusion, every Guyanese citizen must be equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills to participate in this remarkable success story.
Under the leadership of President Dr Irfaan Ali, the government has been diligently working to fulfil its commitment to providing accessible education at all levels. The Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) allows Guyanese — regardless of geographical location, race, or gender — to access tuition for certificate or diploma studies, or undergraduate or postgraduate degrees through an expanding pool of partnering institutions and universities.
Additionally, Government’s recent announcement: that it is writing off approximately $5 billion in student debt at the University of Guyana (UG) by year-end, is a commendable step towards fulfilling the promise of free tertiary education by 2025.
However, there seems to be one area that warrants greater attention: legal education. We are aware of the commendable decision to establish Guyana’s very own law school at the Turkeyen campus of the University of Guyana.

While the feasibility study has been completed and submitted to the Council for Legal Education, realization of this project — including infrastructure and a Law Library — would understandably take a few more years. In the meantime, our students who have successfully completed their Bachelor of Laws degrees at the University of Guyana are required to complete two years of study and practical training at either the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad & Tobago, the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, or the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas in order to obtain their Legal Education Certificate and be fully qualified to practise in Guyana or the English-speaking Caribbean.
The cost of attending these institutions is prohibitive —particularly the Eugene Dupuch Law School, where Guyana is not zoned, making the economic cost significantly higher.
Education is the cornerstone of progress and the key to unlocking opportunities that empower people. In light of this, I urge that Government consider some form of financial relief for Guyana’s law students, who are committed to contributing to the nation’s future development.
Sincerely,
Maggie Jackson