–    calls for stringent entry standardBy Sharmain GraingerRaising the tuition fees at the University of Guyana was yesterday regarded as a rational move by President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Clinton Urling, who emphatically insisted that ?if funding is not going to come from Central Government it has to come from somewhere else and raising fees is one of the initiatives.?  A raise in the tuition fees would however require that efforts be made to review the university?s entire programme and curriculum that are currently being offered, Urling noted.GCCI President Clinton Urling?Cut a few of those programmes that make no sense and consolidate so you can put valuable minimal resources into places where they are needed the most,[url=http://www.wholesalejerseyssale.us@#$%&/]Cheap Jerseys Authentic[/url],? he outlined as he alluded to reports that there are some existing programmes at the tertiary institution that graduate a mere one person.?I don?t know how true that is,[url=http://www.wholesalejerseyssale.us@#$%&/]Wholesale China Jerseys[/url], but regardless, if a programme is graduating just two or three and it is not a graduate level programme, I think we need to review those programmes and scrap some of them.?It was at a recent press conference that Vice Chancellor of the University,[url=http://www.salecheapjerseys.us@#$%&/]NFL Cheap Jerseys China[/url], Professor Jacob Opadeyi, had offered the proposal for an increase in the tuition fees. His suggestion has however not gone down well in all quarters. However, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon has noted that the renewed discussions in this regard could see Government making a definitive decision on the fee hike proposal.Urling is of the firm view that a holistic and multitudinous approach be embraced in making such a crucial decision adding that ?it is not as black and white as raising the fees or dropping the fees.?He vocalised his belief that the local university offers programmes that are perhaps the cheapest in the world, even as he speculated that the fees have not increased since his stint there, which ended in 2004.Urling has since completed a master?s degree programme which, according to him, attracted a cost of approximately $2 million for a year.?People are paying more than that for programmes, but at the University of Guyana people pay $127,[url=http://www.wholesalejerseyssale.us@#$%&/]Cheap NFL Jerseys China[/url],000 for an entire year and yet expect to get quality education…?The demand for quality education, he pointed out, has seen a number of regional and even international universities seeking to offer their programmes here at high fees, that are paid on demand.Supporting the fee hikeMoreover, the GCCI President asserted that the private sector totally stands in support of a raise in tuition fees at the local university, even as he insisted that ?we can?t delink a university from our private sector. If we are serious about diversification of our economy and fuelling some of these industries that are emerging, we definitely need a strong university, it is our main tertiary institution in Guyana and I believe it should, if given the proper resources and the proper management,[url=http://www.cheapjerseysshare.us@#$%&/]Wholesale NFL Jerseys[/url], be the premier tertiary institution in the Caribbean, not just in Guyana?.Moreover, Urling is convinced that in order for the university to reach an acceptable level, there is need for it to maintain administrative independence, whereby it is able to manage all of its affairs. This, he said, is important even if Government plugs the requisite additional funding into the institution?s operation.?I think even if Government is funding most of the work at the university, it has to allow the university to be an independent institution. Government can play an oversight role, but that?s about it; leave them to determine their own affairs and their own future…all those things have to tie in together,[url=http://www.cheapjerseysauthenticonline.us@#$%&/]Cheap Jerseys NFL China[/url], because even if you raise the tuition fees and there is bad or poor management, I don?t think that you will get anywhere in terms of the increased fees going in the right places.?A move to increase fees, he opined,[url=http://www.cheapestnfljerseys.us@#$%&/]Jerseys NFL Wholesale[/url], should also see the university seeking to set a stringent standard in terms of its entry requirements and incorporating a curriculum that caters more to analytical and critical thinking. And while some would opt to view such a move as a political issue, whereby the less fortunate would be deprived of access to the university, Urling has a different outlook.?It makes little sense if persons go into the university and the quality…the level of teaching and experience that they will have, sees them coming out no better. It makes no sense.?He noted that this could, in fact, defeat the entire purpose and spoil the image of the University which could be reflected when graduates go overseas and when they enter the workforce.?When they come to the private sector and they can?t even write proper letters…we would only see it as craziness,? Urling said.Research and DevelopmentAccording to the Chamber President, a transformation of the university must occur in line with the position held by Head of State Donald Ramotar when he addressed the university?s convocation last year.  Mr. Ramotar at the time had committed to reformulating the entire structure of the university, whereby it becomes a hub for research and development.?That is something that the Chamber of Commerce endorses and it is something that we see as critical to improving Guyana?s competitiveness…our private sector?s competitiveness. We can?t delink our success from the University of Guyana.?According to Urling ?one of the more significant barriers for us doing business is the skills shortage problems we have in Guyana…from the migration end and from the quality coming out of the university.?As such, he noted that one of the things that the GCCI has been advocating for is to ensure that a higher quality and better prepared students are produced by the university, to ensure that the curriculum and the other programmes of the institution reflect the economy and the direction of the economy as well as what the private sector demands.He stressed too that research and development is a critical factor, adding that if Guyana?s economy is to become diversified, and if companies are to be competitive globally, ?we will need a knowledge-based economy and that is where we see the university coming in.?Urling noted that at the moment the local university is very deficient in terms of its facilities and teaching quality, which will result in lower quality of students entering the labour force.?There are a few anomalies that would come out from there …one or two good students that you will always get, but generally I think that no one in the society, not just from the private sector, would dispute that a lot of funding needs to go into the University of Guyana,? he passionately asserted.The recently unveiled national budget saw the university being allotted the sum of $1.7 billion of which $450 million will be directed to students? loans.