UG estimates student population will increase to 30,000 in 20 years

With a push for inclusive education, the University of Guyana is grappling with providing services to more students.

University of Guyana Professor Paloma Mohamed said the institution currently has 3,000 students but it foresees a ten-times increase over the next two decades.

“If we’re talking about inclusive education then we’re talking about an education that includes everybody across the country and being mixed [in age]. What is it going to mean for the University of Guyana and the feeder to the University which is all across the education system?

“It means we have to think about how to deliver to various parts of the country- about 30,000 people per year over the next 20 years,” Professor Mohamed said on Thursday as she addressed the opening of the inaugural Teaching Conference for tertiary educators at the Pegasus Hotel, Georgetown.

Her comments came as both the governing coalition and the Opposition People’s Progressive Party are touting free education post-2020 using revenues from oil production.

The two-day forum opened for all tertiary educators at the University, the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and other public tertiary educational facilities.

Some of the topics up for discussion are Gender and Governance in Higher Education Leadership, teaching indigenous populations, catering to the special needs population and Planning and education in an emerging economy.

President David Granger who plans to launch a decade of development from next year, focusing on improving public education, said the aim is to ensure that public education aligns with Guyanese culture.

“Education and Culture must be made compatible for an inclusive system in a country such as ours. An inclusive system should require the school’s curricula to reflect Guyanese cultural diversity, to respect everyone’s right to practice his or her own culture,” the President noted.

“The principal objective of public education is to establish a first-class, inclusive, globally-competitive tertiary education system which will generate a highly-skilled workforce,” he added.

The Head of State pointed out that inclusive education is one in which inequality is diminished.

The theme of the ‘Conference’: “Investing in educators for academic growth and national development”