THE Director of the University of Guyana Berbice Campus, Dr. Parsram S. Thakur, has accused UG’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) Al Creighton, of attempting to avoid facing the legal consequences arising from an incident at the Berbice campus.
Creighton is directly responsible for the administration of the Berbice campus. In a release, the director said that on May 29, last, Dr. Ravi Sahu, an Indian national and lecturer in the Political Science Department, was assaulted by the driver of the university jeep.
Dr. Sahu claimed that it was both verbal and physical, and that the matter was reported to the Whim Police Station, Corentyne. The institution’s Director, Dr. Thakur, subsequently conducted an investigation by speaking with several witnesses over a two-day period. He concluded that the matter was grave.
He subsequently suspended the driver until a complete investigation was done and made a request for a substitute driver. Dr. Thakur reported the matter to the Personnel Officer and to Al Creighton, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC), who agreed that it was proper to suspend the driver.
According to the release, the police returned to the campus on Tuesday to arrest the driver but failed to find him. The matter was set to be called before the magistrate on Monday, June 7. Dr. Thakur added that two days later, “the DVC somehow determined that the matter was no longer grave enough and that the original driver must return to work, that this incident was not a matter for the police but for the University.” The director disagreed saying that the main campus at Turkeyen had treated the Berbice Campus with little respect and if Dr. Sahu wished to talk to the police, he had every right to do so.
Besides, the lecturer said that he was uncomfortable and felt threatened by the presence of the driver. The Director spoke with Dr.Sahu and explained the position of the DVC, offering him alternatives: to drop the matter completely, follow the university procedure, or go to court.
Further, the director said, “Whatever position Dr. Sahu took, I will support him.” The director pointed out that the Turkeyen Campus has an extremely poor record of meting out justice to personnel in Berbice. Numerous promises of reports never materialized.
The release added that the director himself, for nearly a year now, has had a legal matter pending with the University because of discrimination. He said the newspapers have documented only a few of the many cases of discriminatory practices from the Turkeyen Campus. Dr. Thakur said that the DVC by-passed the Director’s office to ask a junior employee to ask Mr. Sahu to call him. Subsequently, Mr. Creighton asked Dr. Sahu to withdraw the complaint and let the university procedure take its course.
What was discussed is not clear but Dr. Sahu did not withdraw the complaint made to the police. “Surprisingly, the DVC called the Whim Police Station and claimed that Dr. Sahu was willing to withdraw the case and follow university procedure. The police were not certain that the matter was in abeyance and waited to hear from Dr.Sahu. “However he never contacted the police to withdraw the complaint,” the Director said.
Further, the DVC told a junior employee, and a representative of the UG Workers’ Union (UGWU) to go to Whim Police Station to reinforce what he had said to the police.
The release added that on Wednesday, June 9, 2004, the Director inquired about the case and learnt from the police about the conduct of the DVC and the junior employee.
“Dr. Sahu was asked to make another statement to the police, which he did.” On June 10, 2004, two members of UG Workers’ Union (UGWU) went to investigate and the director questioned this because there were no terms of reference. They also claimed that they represented the driver, UGWU and Dr. Sahu.
“Normally, Dr. Sahu would have been represented by UG Senior Staff Association (UGSSA). The DVC was former head of UGWU. This may have been a coincidence or a request from the DVC.”
The UGSSA has since claimed to be the true representative of Dr. Sahu. The Berbice Campus Director, in the release, stated that the pattern of dictatorship on the part of the DVC has been depressingly frustrating. “In matters of internal control, he does not communicate with the Director. He does so through other individuals. He dictates and overrides on simple matters of space allocation at the Berbice Campus.
“He refused to authorize payment of trips for professional reasons. “These high handed practices are being done while the government and the University Council are forging greater autonomy of the Berbice Campus,” the Director added.