GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo says former University of Guyana (UG) students who have not signed up for a student loan but owe the university will be eligible for the debt write-off program announced by the government.
“Once they owe the University of Guyana, they are eligible for the write-off, too. They don’t have to have a loan at the bank or [at] the student agency. If you owe them, you’re eligible for the write-off,” Jagdeo told his weekly news conference.
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh, announced the initiative, which the government said would benefit more than 13,000 nationals.
Earlier this month, President Irfaan Ali, addressing a special sitting of the National Assembly, said that tuition fees would be abolished at the University of Guyana and all technical institutions.
Jagdeo told reporters that the government has no intention of defunding or underfunding the tertiary institution, noting that “there will be a commitment, at a minimum, to supply resources beginning January 1 that are no less than what they have now.”
He said the government would fully provide “all” of the resources and look at increasing the funding.
However, Jagdeo said the university would need to increase efforts to improve education delivery.
“We also need a management seized with [a] sense of urgency…the Council at UG has to push for better quality education and better use of the money…we have to get output for it. More efficiency and better-quality tuition for the [students] who go to UG.”
Jagdeo hinted at the possibility of the Ministry of Education considering contracting foreign experts to support the institution’s quality improvement efforts.
“I’m hoping the Ministry of Education would now play a greater role in quality, bringing in people from abroad,” he said, adding that the government would provide several opportunities to Guyanese to ensure that the country has access to higher education.
He said these opportunities would also include providing online programs like the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) program, which has already provided scholarships to more than 27,000 students to study at several international academic institutions.
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