Dear Editor,
I worked at the University of Guyana until almost three years ago. This was my second full-time stint there. I had worked there in the early nineties and despite loving the job I was obliged to leave for a job that paid more money, since I was the only breadwinner in my family at the time. On this second occasion, I left feeling very sad because I loved the job, but the environment was not conducive to continuing there. The salaries were not great, but perhaps they should be printed in the papers for comparison with other local institutions.
For me to be employed there in 2004, was a difficult achievement, despite the fact that UG needed staff with qualifications. I was told by the then Dean that they did not need staff, after several rounds of having me check with him over a period of time. The Head of Department in turn, when cornered, communicated to the person I liaised with, that I was offered a job and I refused it. I persisted and assumed duties with the only other new staff members being two females who had just completed UG. They had no experience, and I discovered that some courses still did not have lecturers. Soon after I assumed duties, someone wrote about our department in the newspapers, claiming that the department was keeping people with qualifications out. This was similar to my experience at the time. The comment that the Head of Department made about this was, that “they can’t get one sweet one place and come here and get another one.” Incidentally, the powers that were in the department did not mind having qualified persons on a part-time basis, where the remuneration was significantly less.
My stay there was never comfortable. I learnt that qualifications were a threat to the influential persons in the department. I learnt that they make money from the ‘summer’ programme through collusion and did not want others to benefit. At first, when I enquired about teaching on the programme, I was told that my course was not being offered. Incidentally, I was aware, that because of past corrupt practices, one did not teach one’s own course during the summer, unless it was an area that could not easily be taught by another lecturer; for example, a law or computer course. This stipulation of not teaching one’s own course did not have the desired effect. The programme was still abused.
I had a broken window for much more than a year. I went through two heads of our department and the administrative officer of the faculty, through whom the matter should have been resolved. I believe I mentioned it to the then Dean also, after I was having no success in getting it fixed. All my efforts failed. Each faculty has an administrative officer who I believe is responsible for ensuring that the offices and facilities of the faculty are maintained. Not much cleaning of the room took place. My window did not get fixed until I ran into the Head Cleaner of the university one day on the ‘catwalk’ and told her of my plight. She promptly sent someone from maintenance to fix the window and the pelmets so that the curtains could be hung. Before that it was very distressing to read with the sharp sunlight coming through the windows, and the faculty did not seem to care. The relevant staff never paid any attention to making the environment comfortable.
I eventually left. I was not welcome in the first place and nothing in the department subsequently changed this view. People, who do not fit the mould, are deliberately frustrated there, so that they would leave. I saw people with a first degree and no experience getting ahead of me. I saw people who could not properly read or write, graduating with distinction. I see them in commercial banks maintaining very slow lines, lacking the capacity to function efficiently and effectively. The other day it took about three quarters of an hour for four persons in a queue to move up to reach my number. At the same time, there was an extremely long line for the regular transactions. It should not take that long, regardless of the transaction(s). It reminded me of the lines at the former GNCB bank.
The silent majority is very quiet, but there is a lot that needs fixing at UG.
Yours faithfully,
Rosemarie Terborg Davis
