Professor Dr. Shamir Ally has called on President Irfaan Ali to make his PhD dissertation available. Writing in his column Diplomatic Speak (Diplomat Speaks) last Tuesday on ‘President Ali’s Half Truths to Al Jazeera: Part 1of 2,’ Ally stated Ali should make his dissertation available for public viewing.
According to Ally, Professor Dr. Jacob Opadeyi, University of Guyana (UG) 9th Vice Chancellor served as Dissertation Chair to Ali’s, University of West Indies (UWI) doctorate. Opadeyi at the time was Professor at UWI. He is now head of the Government’s Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) programme.
Ally stated that inquiring minds ask if Opadeyi’s appointment is a pay back, in place of GOAL being a division of UG, to provide academic and vocational programmes for certificate, diploma, bachelor’s, postgraduate, master’s, and doctorates.
Back in 2018/2019, leading up to the 2020 General and Regional Elections, when Ali was considered the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) presidential candidate front runner, his qualifications that could have led to him pursuing a doctorate were questioned.
In a January 13, 2019 Kaieteur News’ story it was reported “[a] dossier containing, among other things, nine of Ali’s academic certificates has been handed to this newspaper. Information suggests that Ali secured his masters on the basis of a first degree from a University that did not even exist.” The speculation, which was never addressed to the public’s satisfaction, continues to attract attention.
Professor Ally reminded that globally universities dissertations are for global public knowledge and easily available at sites such as ProQuest LLC, Dissertation Services, Michigan, USA. Ali’s dissertation titled “Design and Development of an Integrated Land Management Model in Guyana,” the link which could be found here https://uwispace.sta.uwi.edu/dspace/handle/2139/54415, is not publicly available, he said. A click on the link revealed a one page “Abstract” document.
Ally has therefore suggested Ali makes his dissertation available on the OPM website.
