UG needs a new Board to revisit appointments

Dear Editor,
Reference is made to letter (GT Aug 13) on Dr Melissa Ifill’s appointment as Deputy VC at UG. I am as baffled as the writer on why this and other appointments were made in the midst of an attempt by the then incumbent APNU+AFC regime to steal an election.

When a bold attempt was made to rig an election, no appointment should have been made, especially when the Government lost a no-confidence motion and all court appeals relating to it, as well as the fraudulent vote. The status quo holds pending the completion of the election. To do otherwise is to violate long held principles relating to a no-confidence motion and governance of an interim administration.

Although not an academic, Bishop Juan Edghill knows the principle well. He stated, last June on the Paloma Mohamed appointment, that new appointments are not made during a caretaker administration. My friend Moses Nagamootoo got it all wrong when he slammed Edghill, who was right. Nagamootoo was pretentious, as he knows that caretaker administrations don’t make important appointments, especially at a university or in the civil service.

When Nagamootoo became Minister of Info in 1992, all political appointments were revisited and terminated. It had nothing to do with gender or sex politics; it is an issue of principle that Nagamootoo also fought for, and he has now reversed his position because of politics.

During a caretaker government, all boards are considered interim, and long-established principles (in fact, the law) dictate that new appointments are put off till a new Government is formed and new boards are appointed. Such a basic principle should not be violated at the institution of highest learning, University of Guyana. To break that tradition is to violate this long cherished global tradition of principles of academic integrity.

I do not take such dishonour lightly, as it undermines the very basic foundations of education, not to say democracy, and it also negates what I fought for over the last fifty years. When I accepted my many university diplomas, I took an oath, as others also did, to uphold academic integrity. We should not undermine those oaths.

I hope that President Irfaan Ali’s Administration visit those appointments. At a minimum, I expect UG Board to resign already. The members should do so honourably now, if they haven’t tendered their resignation. The mere fact that they made appointments during a caretaker administration disqualifies them for further membership on the board. They ought to know basic rules about governance. They lack integrity for continuation of service in office. I served at academic board at City College for a few years when I was elected to student government. I served honourably. When a new Chancellor for the City University or a new College President was appointed, the board resigned and a new board was constituted, unless he asks for continuation. I remained on the board because I was elected and re-elected by students, whereas others were appointed by various groups of stakeholders. The appointment was annual unless re-appointed, or, in my case, re-elected by students.

At UG, at the time of Ifill’s appointment, a declaration of the election result was imminent, that would have resulted in a new Government and appointment of a new board at UG. What was the urgency to appoint Ifill two days before Ali became President? Why did VC Paloma Mohamed do it? Could it not have waited, especially that Ifill has long been an APNU ideologue known for her Afro-centric views. I applaud Dr. Irfill for her African cultural nationalism. Nothing is wrong in championing one’s ethnicity. But academics of other ethnic groups (in particular our Indigenous people and Indians) must be given same privileges and equity at UG.

People I have interacted with at UG endorse the view of the writer that, given recent appointments are mired in controversy, it is appropriate for all the appointees to tender their resignation, and a new board established for a complete start-over based on academic integrity.

Yours truly,
Dr. Vishnu Bisram