UG, AG discuss new agreement for automatic admission of UG law grads to Hugh Wooding

Yesterday, representatives of the University of Guyana met with the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC MP, to discuss the terms of a new agreement with officials of the University of the West Indies and the Council of Legal Education of the West Indies, for the continued automatic admissions of graduates of the University of Guyana (UG) Law Programme into the Hugh Wooding Law School and other related matters.

The visiting delegation comprised of Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Dr. Paloma Mohamed Martin, Registrar of the University of Guyana, Dr. Nigel Gravesande and the Head of the Department of Law of the University of Guyana, Ms Kim Kyte-Thomas, Attorney-at-law. Also in attendance were Ms. Prithima Kissoon, State Solicitor, Public Trustee and Official Receiver, and Ms Raeanna Clarke, State Counsel. 

During this visit, the delegation raised four principal issues with the Attorney General, namely:

1. The execution of the new and long-term agreement with officials of the University of the West Indies and the Council of Legal Education of the West Indies for the admission of UG graduates.

• That the number of Guyanese graduates of the UG Law Programme gaining automatic admissions of into the Hugh Wooding Law School should be increased from 25 (twenty-five) students to 40 (forty) students.

• Settling the number of non-Guyanese graduates of the UG Law Programme gaining entry into any of the three law schools in the Caribbean Region namely, the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in the Bahamas.

• The inclusion of the University of Guyana in deliberations of the Council of Legal Education on the issues affecting the University of Guyana.  In respect of this issue, it was noted that the University of Guyana is one of the Universities given express recognition in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and accordingly should be properly included in deliberations of the Council of Legal Education. 

The Honourable Attorney General, who is an executive member of the Council of Legal Education, intimated his commitment to attend the next meeting of the Sub- Committee of the Council of Legal Education and the University of Guyana on this issue and expressed his commitment to moving these arguments forward. The Honourable Attorney General was also keen to highlight that Guyana was one of the few States to make prompt and timely payments to the Council of Legal Education.

The Attorney General also used this opportunity to introduce the delegation to the State’s new prosecutorial programme which seeks to build capacity and improve the proficiency of police prosecutors and requested that the programme be done at the University of Guyana.

The Attorney General explained that the programme will be annual and one-year in duration. The programme will cater for approximately 40 (forty) students who possess a Bachelor of Laws (LLB). These students will be trained to prosecute in the various Magistrates’ Courts throughout the country. The Legal Affairs Minister indicated that the syllabus is being completed by a consultant and with UG’s agreement, the programme will start in the academic year commencing September, 2021. The UG delegation welcomed the idea of the programme and pledged to accommodate the programme at the University of Guyana.