Dear Editor,
Having read Pepping Tom`s column of November 23, 2020, on UG, I feel compelled to join the numerous persons who have flayed the Tom for the unwarranted and ill-informed negativity. That it is an attempt to ridicule, rather than to do a critique, is validated by its reference to ‘what use to be’. What is the relevance of “there was a time, a few years ago, when persons with first degrees were allowed to lecture at UG” to a current evaluation of UG, which is not comparative across periods and only identifies the negatives? In essay writing, that is like padding the argument with irrelevant information.
That the Tom has engaged in a baseless and malicious excursion is exemplified by the following propositions: ‘… every year dozens of students with the requisite qualifications are not accepted into the Law and Medicine programmes because places are limited’. “The obvious solution should have been to expand the number of places to meet the demand for these programmes”. One can hardly be more ludicrous.
A student only qualifies as an Attorney-at-Law after completing the Legal Education Certificate. Only twenty-five law graduates, from UG, are allow to enter Law School, annually, to read for that certificate. UG already admits and graduates in excess of twenty-five law students, each year. Is the Tom suggesting that UG should graduate persons to kick brick in the interest of making more money? In the instance of medicine, clinical rotations have to be undertaken from year three through to the fifth year. This requires practicing specialists, teaching hospitals and a sufficient number of patients across specialist subjects. We simply have limited capacity in that regard, in Guyana. Should UG flout those requirements in the interest of money? In fact, the accrediting body would not permit such a practice.
Those are but two examples of Tom`s tomfoolery. There is much to be done to improve the quality of service provided, at UG. But, Pepping Tom`s criticisms are baseless and useless. Apparently, he wishes to equate UG to himself as he seeks to make his quota of one column per day. Education is about quality not quantity, as seems to be the case with some columnists.
Yours truly,
Vincent Alexander
