The University of Guyana (UG) has agreed to host the J.O.F Haynes Law School at its Turkeyen Campus and has since written the Attorney General, Basil Williams about its decision.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University, Dr Barbara Reynolds confirmed to the News Room during a recent interview that the administration “will make the appropriate arrangements to host the law school”.
The Attorney General recently reaffirmed that the construction of the law school is still on the cards after his predecessor Anil Nandlall raised concerns about the lack of progress being made towards its establishment.
Williams was however quoted in a local newspaper, Stabroek News that the project will become a reality once the UG identifies the land.
In January 2017, the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University College of the Caribbean (UCC)/ Law School of the Americas (LCA) to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a law school here. During the ceremony, the media was told that the study will commence in September 2017 and the school was slated to come on stream by 2018.
But Nandlall during a recent press conference questioned whether the project is still being pursued given that neither talks nor progress is being made to meet those targets.
“Have you seen in the press, anything to suggest we are having a law school (soon)? … No real evidence is available that there is going to be such an establishment,” he questioned.
Nandlall maintained that he is extremely suspicious of the institution that is supposed to be helping the country with the establishment of its law school. “I never heard of an institution called Law School of the Americas but this person came and represented that organization,” he expressed, referring to the ceremonial signing of the MoU earlier this year.
Nandlall believes that law students are being duped into placing their hopes and aspirations into the establishment of the local law school. According to reports, the cost per student to attend the J.O.F Haynes Law School of the Americas is dependent on the overall cost of the facility, however, it will be cheaper than other regional facilities.
The school, which is to be named after the very first Coordinator of the law programme, in 1981, Professor J.O.F. (Joseph Oscar Fitzclarence) Haynes will most likely be built in the community of Turkeyen.
The facility is aimed at addressing challenges with limited accommodation that have been faced by local law students, who would want to further their studies at the regional law schools.
