QUESTIONABLE LEADERSHIP
Sep 04, 2017 , https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...tionable-leadership/
On July 28, 2017, several Guyanese including the head of state and senior functionaries of the government attended the investiture ceremony for the 10thVice Chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG). It was the official installation of theVice Chancellor of UG. Investitures are indeed formal ceremonies that are generally done by Universities around the world to confer the authority and symbols on someone who has been appointed to the headof a University.Investiture began in the middle ages as a symbol of the pursuit of knowledge. It is derived from the Latin verb vestirewhich is the formal installation or coronation of an incumbent.
After a year of new leadership, many students believe that the philosophy of UG has changed from meeting their needs and improving the services to one of elevation of senior personnel. According to the students, the new leadership at UG seems bent on making things more difficult for them to acquire an education. It is known that UG is a cash-strapped institution which depends on public funds to cover the cost for most of its operations. Yet, the leadership was about to rent a building on Lamaha and Camp streets to house a School of Business for G$6 million per month. How would such a school benefit the taxpayers? Why not a school of computer science or engineering or mining or public management which would be beneficial to the country.
As if this idea was not silly enough, the Vice Chancellor has added three new Deputy Vice Chancellors to the roster of UG hierarchical structure, thus making UG with less than 5,000 full-time students, top-heavy more than most large, wealthy North American Universities with over 20,000 students.
Presently, UG’s top bureaucracy consists of a non-resident Chancellor, a resident Vice Chancellor, a Pro-Chancellor, three deputy Vice Chancellors, a Registrar, four deputy Registrars, a Vice Chancellor for Cabinet, a Chief of Staff Vice Chancellor and several Directors, deputy Directors and heads of departments. It seems that the new leadership at UG is not getting the message that the institution has deteriorated to the point where it is hardly conducive to proper higher learning. Almost all areas at UG—from its dorm to the library to the compound, the computer and science labs, lights, toilets, classrooms accommodations and other basic necessities—are in very poor shape.How can the leadership at UG expect students to dwell and learn under such difficult and poor conditions?
This has been acknowledged by the Vice Chancellor who asserted that some basic things to ensure the efficient management of and learning at UG have been neglected for decades. Yet, according to a senior official at UG, the cost for his investiture is in the millions of dollars. It was a lavish gala event and the first investiture since UG was founded more than 50 years ago. The Vice Chancellor has stated that in his quest to be transparent and accountable, he would share information with the staff, student’s body and the unions at UG, yet the cost of his investiture remains a secret. He ought to know that public officials who do not practice what they preach tend to lose credibility.
Suffice it to say that UG is an education nightmare. Its top-heavy bureaucratic structurewill not improve the low levels of efficiency and effectiveness at the institution or cause an increase in the student population. The image of UG like any other university will improve with qualified lecturers/professors and with sound academic programs relevant to the needs of the country and the modern era. The changes being instituted at UG are cosmetic. Its leadership should discard its primitive colonial structure comprised of a Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor and deputy chancellors. They should be replaced by a modern structure—a President, Vice President/Provostand Deans to make it a relevant educational institution.