Discussions are ongoing between the University of Guyana and the Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) to foster a greater partnership and the new Vice-Chancellor of the institution has stressed the need for a major injection of funds.

At a recent GMSA-sponsored luncheon, the Association’s President Ramesh Dookhoo announced the formation of a group, which would serve as a private sector liaison body for the university. The group has been charged with the responsibility of advising the University officials and providing feedback between the University and the GMSA.

At this forum, Dookhoo called for the immediate introduction of “a degree programme in human resources management, a degree programme in marketing and a degree programme in accounting as these are essential pillars of business development.” He also urged that a diploma course in Internal Auditing be offered at the university. The group is supposed to offer technical support to the university in order to implement these programmes.

Dookhoo, speaking at a press conference yesterday at the headquarters of the Private Sector Commission, said that this support should not be interpreted as the Association moving to have a separate Business School established as part of the university. He explained that the intention was to assist the University to introduce modern up-to-date programmes that would benefit the business community as well as to improve some of the existing ones.

University Vice-Chancellor Lawrence Carrington was also at the press conference yesterday and said that he was grateful that the partnership had been forged. He said that discussions were ongoing but underscored the potential it had to lead to improvement of the university and to address the developmental needs of the country.  In emphasizing the importance of this collaboration, Carrington said that the business sector represented a critical clientele of the university, since many of the graduates became employees in this sector.

Carrington said that the University’s administration is looking at ways the institution can be improved and said that it will be undertaking a curriculum review.
He added that in response to concerns about the quality of the university, it began a quality assurance initiative which is being supported by a joint working group from UG and the University of the West Indies (UWI). Carrington explained that a quality assurance member of UWI, was currently here doing a situational analysis of UG’s practices. He said that the intention is to work with UG over months to create a quality assurance manual and a set of procedures for UG, and a framework through which it can undertake its own quality practices. He stated that this initiative should bring it more in line with contemporary practices for quality assurance higher education.

Meanwhile, Carrington emphasised the university’s need for funding, saying that while the government had been very supportive of the institution, the problem of funding exists. According to him, “what obscures the good relationship is limited financial ability of the state to support an institution that needs to go through significant maintenance in respect of its physical plant which needs to have resources available to it in rather larger quantities than the annual provisions can allow”.

He said that the university needed a “major injection” of funds.  He identified the timing of “financial intervention and the quantum” as key issues that needed to be addressed.