Conditions worsen at UG

UNIVERSITY of Guyana ViceChancellor Dr. George Walcott said yesterday the institution has been forced to use its own money to speed-up rehabilitation work on the campus, following delays in the Inter-American Development Bank rehabilitation programme.

The Vice-Chancellor’s statement has come in the wake of increasing calls from lecturers and speculation among students that classes should be suspended until leaking roofs are repaired, cafeteria services are upgraded and the sewerage system rectified.

‘The campus is slowly coming to a standstill,” one lecturer told Stabroek News yesterday, as talks between the Administration and the University of Guyana Workers’ Union (UGWU) continue in a bid to find a solution to lingering problems on campus.

Admitting that the institution may have made the mistake of waiting on the IDB project, Dr. Walcott said “things then got worse,’ but “we are using our own resources to try to bring about improvements.”

Administrative sources said the Arts faculty had planned a late Tuesday afternoon meeting to discuss the crisis since both students and staff are fed up with the situation.

“One hour of rain and that’s it,” another staffer said, referring to water which lodges in several classrooms after rains.

Worse hit is the crucial large lecture theatre whose roof leaks so badly that water remains on the grounds days after.

Asked about reports of a campus closure UGWU President Father Malcolm Rodrigues said the talk is not so much about closure but the suspension of classes until things are sorted out. He did not elaborate.

“We are talking with the administration to find a solution,” Rodrigues said.