Georgetown: The recent termination of Freddie Kissoon’s contract as a lecturer at the University of Guyana has been dubbed a “massive error,” by Khemraj Ramjattan, who represents the Alliance for Change (AFC). He said that the move represents a continuation of the vindictiveness of the former Bharrat Jagdeo Government which set out to silence dissenting views.
Frederick Kissoon, who served as a University of Guyana lecturer for 26 years, yesterday had his University of Guyana contract terminated with immediate effect. Kissoon claims that he has been barred from any further employment there.
Kissoon, 61, said that he was informed of the termination of his contract by the Dean of the Social Science Faculty, O’Neil Grace. He received a letter to this effect later in the day. The letter, signed by Acting Registrar Theodosius Velloza, informed Kissoon that he, Kissoon, would be paid “subject to satisfactory completion of last pay certificate.” He said he does not know what that means.
Kissoon said that he was informed that the decision was taken at a meeting of the University Council last Wednesday. Kissoon sits on the University Council as a representative of the University workers, but he said that he did not know a meeting was called.
One of the persons who attended the meeting said that one stipulated condition was that Kissoon boost his academic profile. For his part, Kissoon said that he always did research, but the University Council member said that nothing ever came of Kissoon’s research.
The staff said that in keeping with the contract, Kissoon was given three months’ notice of termination. The University also took pains to ensure that the termination did not come in the midst of the semester.
Kissoon said that in a new era where for the first time in Guyana’s history the Government no longer has control of the Parliament, the opposition must prove that they can act against not only this issue, but other cases of authoritarian-styled governance.
Kissoon said that the government seems to have an obsession with him and this was demonstrated in several instances such as when feces was thrown on him, when the trench in front of him was left out of a cleaning exercise, and when he was jailed for a minor traffic offence that a jail sentence is not required.
Meanwhile, A Partnership for National Unity in a statement issued today condemned the termination of the contract of outspoken political scientist and newspaper columnist Frederick Kissoon with the University of Guyana. The statement noted that “APNU regards the action as a violation of academic freedom and press freedom,” adding that the People’s Progressive Party Civic administration used its voting power on the UG Council to terminate the lecturer’s contract in the middle of an academic year, a few months before it would have come up for review. “APNU regards this recent act as a violation of Kissoon’s right to freedom of expression as a columnist, academic freedom as a lecturer and civil rights as a citizen.”
APNU said too that this move has come at a time when the University of Guyana is already in crisis and has been finding it difficult to attract lecturers in several academic departments. The Partnership said that Mr. Kissoon has a natural right to be informed of the reasons for the termination of his contract and called for the lecturer’s re-instatement.
It was noted too that the APNU has closely monitored the PPPC’s hostile attitude towards columnists and journalists who criticized President Bharrat Jagdeo over the past 12 years. The Partnership expressed regret that, so early in his tenure as President, Mr. Donald Ramotar, would take such a retrograde step by allowing such an incident to occur.
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