Concerns are being raised by students of the University of Guyana (UG) Turkeyen Campus with respect to the newly introduced parking protocols that were established by the administration.
The new regulations which were established includes a wheel clamping system that targets the vehicle of students.
Guyana Times was told that barricades were placed on campus at a number of locations where the students would usually park their vehicles to attend classes. Now with the new system, only staff of the university are permitted to utilise those spaces.
One of the signs at the Turkeyen Campus
The students related there is a calculated plan devised by the administration to have them cramped in the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT) parking lot. However, the disturbed students explained that the space cannot accommodate all of the vehicles, especially during the hours with the most classes when students struggle for a place to park.
“Actually, the only place [that] we could park is at the GWLT parking lot, which is very much occupied, especially in the afternoon. If you park at the other places, then your vehicle will be clamped,” a student explained.
This publication was also told that this decision was a unilateral one, and the student body was not informed about these changes. It was after some vehicles were clamped and signs were erected that they were notified.
“This decision is the latest in a line of unilateral decisions that have been taken without consulting with the student body. We did not know about the decision until a sign appeared on campus. I think that the primary purpose of the university is a learning institution, and this is putting undue pressure on students,” another related.
Meanwhile, many are more concerned about the wheel clamps which will be attached to vehicles that are parked in the now restricted areas.
If the vehicles are clamped, students will be required to pay $3,000 for the clamp to be removed, and an additional $1000 for every day that the vehicle has been clamped. This, students say, is another way in which money can be extracted from them, and it adds to the large sums of money that are paid every academic year for tuition and administrative fees.
It was reported earlier this year that the administrative body had made a unilateral decision to hike the administrative fees; one which the University of Guyana Students’ Society (UGSS) has condemned.
Students were notified of the changes after they were told they would pay more for supplemental examinations. It was then announced that the fees were increased. In some areas, the approved rates were increased by 100 per cent. (Rupadai Seenaraine)
