UG staff signs ‘no confidence petition’ against Vice Chancellor

A press statement from the University’s Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) and Workers Union noted that a meeting was held on June 23 at the Turkeyen Campus, where they staff “voted overwhelmingly and unequivocally to support” the petition.

According to the release, the No Confidence Petition, which was first proposed in April 2015 and drafted by a member of the academic staff, was “wholeheartedly supported by the executives and membership of the two University Unions.”

It was agreed at the meeting that the petition would be submitted to the current University Council as well as the impending Council, which is slated to be convened in July 2015. It was also agreed that the Petition would be submitted to the Minister of Education Dr. Rupert Roopnarine.

The release noted that the staff also expressed no confidence in the two Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Dr. Barbara Reynolds and Dr. Elizabeth Ramlall noting that they “display similar arrogant, dismissive, offensive, unprofessional and unproductive traits as Professor Opadeyi.”

Below is the text of the No Confidence Petition:

Petition of No Confidence in the University of Guyana’s

Vice Chancellor Professor Jacob Opadeyi

23 June 2015

We the community of workers of the University of Guyana, do hereby and hereon sign this petition as a Vote of No Confidence in Professor Jacob Opadeyi in his capacity as Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Guyana. We affirm that we have no confidence in his inability to administer the affairs of the University of Guyana, the premier educational institution of Guyana.

Whereas Professor Opadeyi, having responsibility for the day to day management of the institution is deemed responsible for the following infractions which are either:1.illegal based on the Laws of Guyana;2.against the Statutes of the University of Guyana; or,3. unethical and opposed to the best interest of the University of Guyana:

1. Blatant disregard for the Terms of Resumption Agreement signed March 2, 2015by the University Administration and the two staff unions;
2. Eroding the powers of the Academic Board as prescribed in the statutes of the University of Guyana;
3. Compromising academic quality and integrity for the sake of cutting costs;
4. A dictatorial, vindictive, micromanagement leadership style that is characterised by dishonest and deliberately misleading communications;
5. Altering terms and condition of work without consultation with employees;
6. Failure to honour contracts with employees including Illegally withholding legitimate payments due to staff;
7. Circumvention and breach of university financial systems, practices and procedures;
8. Financial mismanagement and impropriety including but not limited to system override at the bursary;
9. Repeated failure to meet legal obligations to transfer deductions from workers’ salaries to various bodies;
10. Failure to provide a safe and healthy working environment;
11. Unreasonable and inhumane treatment of staff;
12. Failure to provide faculty and workers with basic tools of the trade;
13. Failure to provide appropriate spaces, facilities and equipment for effective teaching and learning;
14. Exorbitant executive cost and size with little consideration for UG’s indebtedness;
15. Poor productivity of the Executive;
16. Unjustly and dishonestly staining the public image of the University and its staff;
17. General failure to act in the best interest of the University.

With consideration for the aforementioned infractions and in the interest of the University of Guyana and the nation it serves, we petition the Council of the University of Guyana to remove Professor Opadeyi as a matter of urgency. We further petition the Minister of Education, The HonourableDr. Rupert Roopnarine and His Excellency President DavidGranger, President of theCo-operative Republic of Guyana, to ensure that the Council of the University of Guyana acts in the interest of the University and the nation of Guyana.