Students of the University of Guyana (UG) are enraged at the recent move by the University to increase tuition fees by 5% without requisite consultations or improved facilities.
Just one month into its new academic year, the Deputy Registrar of University on Friday told students via a mass email that the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the University had approved an annual 5% increase in the tuition fees effective for 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 Academic Years.
It was added that “the difference, without penalty, becomes due and payable on or before November 15, 2016.” Meanwhile, the facilities fee of $50,000 remains unchanged.
The annual tuition fee for the 2016/2017 Academic Year would therefore be $168,000 instead of $160,000.
The email added that “the University regrets any inconvenience caused,” and advised that all invoices would be amended accordingly.
However, students of the Institution have raised several concerns in relation to having value for their monies already paid to the University.
One student explained that despite the payment of the requested sums, the University is lacking adequate furniture and other facilities.
Another student explained that in recent past, the Campus has been experiencing frequent power outages and the lack of a backup system leads to the cancellation or discontinuation of several classes.
It was also noted that the increased fee coupled with other systems put in place by the administration during the year have only made it more difficult to access tertiary education at the institution.
The University of Guyana in July announced that from November 2016, all eligible University of Guyana’s graduating students attending the ceremony will be required to pay a graduation fee of G$10,000, while students not in attendance will pay a fee of $7,000. The proposal was made by Vice-Chancellor Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith and approved by the University’s Finance and General Purposes Committee (F&GPC) on July 11, 2016.
This was followed by increased conditions when it comes to accessing loans from the educational institution. This the Ministry of Finance said is as a result of repeated failure to repay student loans.
Additionally, in August the institution announced several changes in its management structure and disclosed that it has made a “bold request” of $2.5B from the government in the coming year to cover its expenses and built new facilities.
