I take note that both Mr. Freddie Kissoon and Mr. Jason Benjamin in their letters in Stabroek News of October 13 sign themselves as “Members of the Search Committee for a Vice-Chancellor”. They also say they are members of the University Council which is the highest decision making council for UG.

Mr. Kissoon has been saying for a long time that the University of Guyana is a poor, sub-standard place.

I believe Mr. Kissoon has a point because a university would choose from among their best and brightest students to sit on the search committee to choose a new Vice-Chancellor? So how is it that Mr. Benjamin is a member of that body? A good student would not spend five years doing a two-year Diploma in Engineering and failing so many courses.

The evidence of Mr. Benjamin’s performance is there in the newspapers because he has written several letters in Kaieteur News and Stabroek News. One only needs to read them to see that they are badly written and are of poor quality. This is hardly the ideal student who has a difficulty in expressing himself to sit on the university’s highest decision making bodies.

To make matters worse, which university of high standards would have a lecturer boasts that he has worked 21 years at the university, but according to him it is impossible to do research there, so he has not done any, and could not produce any publications.

Although that is the case and there are many bad reports of his performance practices, this lecturer is also a member of those highest bodies making decisions.

I would think a university would put their best people in these positions. How can a lecturer who cannot produce research and publications in 21 years and who it is reported, has a questionable record to be an ideal person to sit on a Search Committee which will choose a Vice-Chancellor for the university? If he cannot be an exemplary lecturer, how can he choose a Vice-Chancellor?

It certainly does not do anything for UG’s image to have such people boasting that they are members of these committees.
VERONICA EARLE