By Ramona Luthi
Several University of Guyana (UG) students staged a protest in front of the educational facility this morning, to speak out against the 5% hike in tuition fees.
Many were heard shouting “No 5%, get it from the government!” and “strike against the hike!” as they held their pickets in front of them.
According to the students, this decision was made by the Administration of UG without the consent of its students, highlighting that there has been no visible improvement throughout the institution that would call for such an increase.
“We have seen nothing that would call for them to raise tuition costs. No discussion was made with us about this. I absolutely disagree with this decision,” one student told INews earlier today.
Some of the students even began listing areas in the educational facility that badly needed to be improved, including the dysfunctional Public Address (PA) systems in the lecture rooms, lack of ventilations in enclosed classrooms, and the washroom’s deplorable state.
Many also pointed out the need to prevent the frequent blackouts that students would face during their late night lectures.
Additionally, students alluded to the many promises that have reportedly been made by the Administration of UG to better the current issues, which is why a miscellaneous fee of $50,000 is paid. However, those promises have been nothing but empty.
“The black outs have prevented a lot of necessary classes, the PA systems don’t work and there are no microphones for the lecturers so basically they’re teaching over 200 students with just their voices…,” another student indicated.
Other UG students told this online publication that the problem does not lie in the increase, but more so with why the increase is being imposed, since they are certain it will not go to providing better facilities at the university.
Meanwhile, the administration of UG is expected to host a meeting with its students sometime this afternoon.
