UG Governing Council expanded from 26 to 32 members for wider representation

…FITUG, religious groups to be allowed to nominate persons

The Government will be rolling out plans to expand the University of Guyana Governing Council, which is empowered to make decisions that impact the running of the educational institution, from its current 26 membership to 32.
According to a motion that will be moved by Education Minister Priya Manickchand during today’s 83rd sitting of the National Assembly, section 12(2) of the University of Guyana Act, Chapter 39:02 will be amended as per a gazette order published last month.
That gazette order, dated June 27, 2024, made a number of changes to the principal act. These changes include expanding the governing council by, among other things, increasing the persons that can be nominated by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from four to five and including youth nominees to the women, farmers, Amerindian and business nominees already provided for.
The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) were also afforded a nominee, while the subject minister was granted three additional nominees, raising the number of nominees the minister can make to six persons. According to the amendments, these must be persons, who the minister feels can contribute significantly in the area of “medicine, law, ICT, environment, climate change, natural resources and national defense and security.”

Nominations that can be made by Chancellor of the University of Guyana were reduced from six to four, while a paragraph will be added that will allow “three persons to be appointed by the minister from persons nominated by Christian, Muslim and Hindu organisations.”
The Government has been steadily unveiling its vision for UG, with a sum of $4.1 billion being budgeted this year to support the institution.
There are plans to launch new programmes in areas such as food security, cyber security, engineering technologies, biopharma, marine studies, earth and climate sciences, and sports medicine. Works have also commenced on a new Health Sciences Education Building, which will be completed in the first half of 2025.
Additionally, the Government has also begun its roll out of free tertiary education. Back in May, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh had announced the commencement of phase one of the student loan write-off as was outlined during the 2024 budget presentation and part of the party’s 2020 Manifesto.
The parameters of phase one Student Loan Write Off Programme include the writing off of all loans owed by Guyanese who are able to demonstrate that they completed their course of study and graduated.
This first phase, according to Singh, could potentially benefit over 13,000 Guyanese who have $11 billion in student loan debt. It also applies to students who took out loans and are yet to repay such within the timeframe of the Government’s term in office. Retroactively, they will also benefit from free tertiary education as a result of this. (G3)