For 2024, Budget 2024 provides for a subvention of $4B, more than $1B to clear loans owed by students to UG and another almost $1B for PSM scholarships for Guyanese children attending university. In 2024, in excess of $6B will be transferred out of the consolidated fund to UG. At the same time, Budget 2024 provides for transition plans to make UG free in 2025, a promise made by the PPP in its Election 2020 manifesto. But MPs Khemraj Ramjattan and Coretta McDonald see this as an attack on UG. They cite the call by VP Bharat Jagdeo for higher quality degree programs at UG and the provisions in Budget 2024 for other scholarship programs outside UG, such as GOAL and the Coursera options as evidence of the attack against UG.
Both GOAL and Coursera offer options not available at UG. Many persons who have already graduated from UG are taking advantage of GOAL and Coursera. Guess what! There are UG lecturers taking advantage of GOAL and Coursera to add to their credentials and training. Here is the height of hypocrisy – many of the members of the PNC, AFC, the APNU one-man parties in parliament are beneficiaries of GOAL and Coursera. But this does not stop MPs from the Opposition to demand resources from GOAL and Coursera go to UG. This is the sum total of their raison d’etre for condemning Budget 2024 as an PPP attack on UG.
Today, the majority of Guyana’s general and specialist doctors, specialist nurses, allied health workers, lawyers, engineers, accountants and other professionals come form what was once termed “Jagan’s Night School.” Cheddi Jagan and the PPP had the vision in early 1960s to create Guyana’s education infrastructure that has positioned Guyana in 2024 to not just aspire for developed country status, but to actually be on the road. Jagan’s “Night School”, UG was just one of the educational infrastructures that constituted the PPP’s Education Vision. This vision, outside of UG, also included dotting the landscape across the country with new secondary schools. Our secondary schools and UG still stand as one of the most important contributions the PPP has made to the long-term viability of our country, and for peace, progress and prosperity. We have moved from the place where foreigners were our doctors to where children of canecutters, fishermen, farmers, people from across Guyana, all religious background, all political affiliation are our professionals.
The University of Guyana was a development plan that became a fierce debate in the early 1960s. Cheddi Jagan and the PPP conceptualized, advocated and made it happen. The main opposition was the PNC and its leader, Forbes Burnham. It was Burnham who derogatorily etched the name “Jagan’s Night School” into the annals of the history of UG. Let us never ever forget this part of our history. It was during the Burnham dictatorship and in his quest to make his Sophia Declaration of party paramountcy the lighthouse of Guyana’s development that the PNC completely politicized UG, where its funding was unequivocally linked to loyalty to the PNC and its leader. It was the PNC which denied the great Guyanese intellectual, Dr. Walter Rodney, the opportunity to lecture at UG. Others can also say the same. Just ask Dr. Rupert Roopnarine or Paul Tennessee.
It, therefore, is unfathomable to listen to MP Coretta McDonald haranguing in parliament during the first day of the debate over Budget 2024 that Budget 2024 is an attack on UG, that the PPP government through Budget 2024 and through public utterings of VP Bharat Jagdeo is waging war against UG. While many of us might feel that UG has to “up” its game, we also are very proud of its achievement. Bharat Jagdeo while alluding to the need for improved program never once cast aspersions on the overall contributions of UG to Guyana’s development. We must never forget that it was Bharat Jagdeo who dramatically increased subvention to UG and that it was under Bharat Jagdeo presidency and personal leadership that the Berbice Campus was established.
None of us would ever doubt that UG has lived up to the vision of Cheddi Jagan and our expectations. Coretta McDonald is wrong on all fronts when it comes to UG. Ther is no attack against UG from the PPP government. Both McDonald and Ramjattan are playing politics with a national institution that serves every family in this country.
For one, MP McDonald queried why Government limited the subsidy to UG to $4B, insisting that the investment in GOAL should be considerably less than what the investment in UG is. My understanding of what she wants is that the $4B allocated for GOAL could be better spent if all or most were to be added to the UG subvention. She ignored the many other investments being made to UG through government. Budget 2024 also caters for forgiveness of all loans owed to UG and the government at this time. Those billions foregone help to ease the burden on students and will allow more students to attend university. By next year, as clearly articulated by the President, the VP, the Minister of Education and as promised in the PPP’s Election 2020 manifesto, UG will be free of cost for all students. This is a government committed to UG.
But the presentation sent me scurrying to the budget books. Budget 2024 allocated more than $4B directly to UG and also provided for the forgiveness of loans owed by students to UG and that was provided to UG through the revolving loan arrangement between Ministry of Finance and UG. The loans borrowed by students is not coming out of UG revenues; it comes from the revolving fund which is usually replenished by MOF. In addition, each year more students are benefiting from scholarships, which cost almost $1B in 2023.
Contrast the PPP’s actions in support of UG with MP McDonald’s party. In 2019, UG’s subvention was $2.5B. Budget 2024 allocation for UG is $4B or 60% more than 2019. When the loan forgiveness is added, Budget 2024 is more than doubled that of Budget 2019. But in 2014, the last full year the PPP was in government before the PNC-led APNU/AFC took over the government, the subvention to UG was $827M. In 2015, under APNU/AFC, the subvention was reduced to about $500M. Who really has supported UG? How is doubling the subsidy an attack on UG? MP McDonald is trying to boondoggle, trying to falsify the records of two governments with contrasting history when it comes to UG.
MP McDonald’s party cannot escape the fact they betrayed UG and the students at UG. They promised the students in 2015 that should they get into government they would eliminate all fees at UG within their first 100 days. That promise was made on the platforms across the country. It was in their Election 2015 manifesto. They failed to keep their promise. In fact, they increased the tuition fees by more than 70% in 2016. They also increased the non-tuition fees and even introduced some new ones. Which political party has attacked UG? MP McDonald must tell us how increasing the subsidy is an attack on UG. She must tell us how keeping our promise, such as the promise to make the university free, is an attack on UG. The PPP is finalizing arrangements to make UG free as we promised in our manifesto. The PNC-led APNU/AFC increased their fees when their promise was to eliminate the fees.
Do not forget also that hundreds of students today are attending UG free through PSM scholarships. The 2023-2024 numbers of scholarships are more than doubled the numbers from 2019-2020. Who, therefore, supports UG? Who attacks UG? There are presently more than 100 post-graduate scholarships for specialist medicine and nursing programs. These were started under the PPP and increased only when the PPP is in office. MP McDonald was dishonest when she addressed parliament and when she addressed the nation. We saw her, we heard her, we know the truth. The University of Guyana, the same university MP McDonald’s hero, Forbes Burnham once dubbed “Jagan’s Night School” is here to stay and will continue to flourish under the PPP.