It was Trinidad Prime Minister Keith Rowley who told the University of the West Indies last week that it had fallen away from its mission in scientific research. He was speaking on the occasion of the university’s 75th anniversary along with the 70th anniversary of the Seismic Research Centre. More than many politicians in this region he was well qualified to comment, since he holds a PhD in geology and was the first Caribbean-born scientist to head the Centre. But seismology was not the focus of his criticism and he praised the university for the strides it had made in this particular sphere. His concern was rather the fact that there was a long way to go in other fields.
Referring to great research work done by the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, which was the forerunner of the St Augustine campus, he said that a university whose “pedigree” lay there could not “be satisfied with professional or senior staff CVs dominated by column inches of questionable opinionated expressions in the local daily or Sunday papers.” He went on to say there were still hundreds of stimulating areas of research to be explored and published, and that “such publications and edification stimulated by collection and analysis of data in every field can do wonders for decision-making at every level of the society, from government to small entrepreneurs.”
If an altogether larger, more successful tertiary institution like University of the West Indies is falling down on the scientific research front, what about its counterpart in Guyana? Work at this level, however, takes funds, and while many universities across the globe, including UWI, face funding challenges, those faced by UG are acute. It is not as if this is a new development, it has been so for many decades. One might have thought that with the recent bonanza of oil money the university might have attracted some government attention, but apparently not.
UG has, it is true, an Institute of Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which a year ago hosted its inaugural exhibition of innovative projects by its staff and students. According to a press release of the time it was intended to “stimulate scientific inquiry, promote business opportunities” and publicise some of its applied research work, “which could impact national development.” Most of those listed were agricultural applications, such as roll-on and roll-off forage applications for small ruminant feed, several types of food production and phytogenic ameliorants to enhance gastrointestinal health in poultry, among others.
The Institute it was reported, hoped to help transform the economy through development and documentation, as well as by disseminating and marketing research findings and innovations to industry. Professor of Practice, Dr Pat Francis was quoted as saying that the university “produces more than 100 applied research pieces every year in collaboration with several agencies and other universities.” The Institute has an advantage which other departments do not, and that is that it benefits from the Greater Guyana Initiative which is funded to the tune of $20 billion by ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC. The University of Guyana is one of five major partners in the initiative.
In addition there have been competitions such as that run by the National Science Fair which last year was won by a group of undergraduate engineering students called Ultimatus Electricus. Their winning entry worth $1 million was a wireless fault line indicator which could help GPL restore electricity faster by detecting faults along the transmission lines almost immediately. This would obviate the need for the electricity company to rely on reports from the public. What has never been reported is whether this item of equipment has been produced in the quantity necessary for GPL’s purposes if at all, and if so, whether it actually has been put into use. If not, it would remain just an interesting experiment.
UG has a relatively new science building called the Hogben Drayton Maths and Science Centre, although whether in terms of its resources and equipment it meets the standards of even a middle-of-the-road university outside is not really known.
For all of this when setting up its GOAL scholarships, the government bypassed UG, linking up in particular with UWI, something for which it came in for criticism. No doubt it recognised that the Institute of Research notwithstanding, the local university could not meet its educational requirements. Neither did the Ministry commit to upgrading the local university by providing the necessary funds. Universities must not only be well equipped to meet international standards, but they must also be able to pay their staff competitive rates in order to attract academics of quality, and UG rates of pay have been unbelievably low for decades.
There was Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo last week affirming that following the local government elections the ruling party would be returning to its development agenda which it would pursue aggressively. He made specific reference to President Irfaan Ali’s economic diplomacy and the fact that Guyana had secured US$150 million from the Saudi Fund, most of which would be directed towards its housing drive. No one has a quarrel about a housing drive, but for all the government has had to say about job creation, infrastructure, healthcare, housing and education, there is rarely, if ever, any mention of UG. Maybe it just thinks ExxonMobil and company should take care of it all.
Not long after the Institute for Research held its inaugural exhibition of innovative projects, the University of Guyana Foundation in collaboration with Demerara Distillers Ltd launched a limited edition rum in advance of the celebration of UG’s 60th anniversary on October 3rd, this year as well as to raise funds for the institution. The Fund had been launched in February 2022 to assist with funding gaps and to create an endowment for the future. Inevitably the DDL connection came in for criticism, and as for the government, it appeared completely unabashed that the institution founded by the progenitor of the PPP, Dr Cheddi Jagan, had linked up with the alcohol industry in its desperation for money.
The government does not appear to have any clear plan for the university, despite the fact that certain avenues present themselves such as the Department of Environmental Studies, to give one example, which could be built up to attract researchers of the highest calibre. Even a couple of internationally recognised departments would raise the reputation of the university as a whole, and have a spin-off effect in terms of research in other areas. Pouring money into endless new roads will not help development if the country’s highest institution of learning is left to languish. If that happens, we will forever be dependent on improvements to existence of all kinds which have originated outside.
