  with oil funds free university education possible new chancellor of ug  with oil funds free university education possible new chancellor of ug webmaster tue 12032019 1127 with the recently increased discussions on the university of guyana ug becoming a tuitionfree zone newly appointed chancellor professor edward greene believes that making education at the university free is certainly achievable during a recent interview with inews professor greene was asked about his thoughts on the concept of free education at ug greene noted that not only is it doable the right to free education is also enshrined in the constitution i think free education is doable with the resources from oil we can find a way to make that a priority as a matter of fact it s enshrined in the constitution and i think when we look at what happens in singapore and the rest of southeast asia where they really developed education from childhood to university and made that free he explained greene noted the developmental potential that those countries have been able to realise and the importance of investments in human capital according to the academic investing in human capital can bring enormous returns to the country as a whole the investment in human capital bears returns that are enormous and i would certainly urge and collaborate with the government to really come through with their promise of free education he said article 27 of the constitution of guyana states that every citizen has the right to free education from nursery to university at ug however there have in fact been incremental increases in tuition and various services since 2017 with elections on the horizon various political parties have pitched the idea of implementing free education at ug which currently has over 5000 students enrolled there is an international precedent for free tertiary education with countries like germany brazil and norway offering worldclass public university education free of cost the former deputy secretary general of the caribbean community caricom and decorated diplomat officially took over as chancellor at the university s 53rd convocation ceremony on november 16 his appointment ends almost a year s search for someone to succeed former chancellor emeritus nigel harris greene enters office at a time when ug is under the direction of an interim management committee that was set up after the controversial departure of former vice chancellor professor ivelaw griffith during his interview greene acknowledged that at present the university faces many challenges but there are lots of opportunities especially given we are on the cusp of a buoyant economy so i think one of the short term things the university can do is to ensure it develops the kind of programmes that can equip its graduates to get engaged in the sustainable development future of guyana greene also explained that from his observations there are areas for improvement in infrastructure on campus as an example he noted that given the importance of science technology engineering and mathematics stem there should be improvements to the laboratories the chancellor also noted the importance of the university engaging the community rather than leaving the institution with the perception of being an ivory tower according to greene ug must be able to provide perspectives including research on issues that affect the wider community chief among these issues is how do we tackle climate change together because it s a human endeavour how do we develop towards a green economy how do we really level the playing field so that more people can have opportunities to get a higher education and technical training that s how i see us moving in the immediate future i call it the lowhanging fruit  by jarryl bryan newsource  https wwwinewsguyanacom withoilfundsfreeuniversityeducationpossiblenewchan   with oil funds free university education possible new chancellor of ug  