The hiring practices at the University of T&T and the integrity of its programmes are to be investigated by a forensic accountant, according to Science, Technology and Tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim.
Karim made the revelation in an interview with the T&T Guardian at his Agra Street, St James, office yesterday. He said there had been many reports about the way in which the procurement issues had been dealt with at the university. "There have been many allegations by people who have worked in the University of T&T about the absence of the procedures and policies that are being adhered to," Karim said. "There is also concerns about the programmes being offered at the University of T&T and the accreditation of those programmes and therefore the integrity of those programmes." He said the probe will also look at "the per capita cost of students and training at UTT.
"So those are some of the things and what we are saying that we want to address immediately," he said. He stressed that the UTT concerns were being addressed urgently. Karim said the "many memorandum of agreements or relationships with foreign universities and foreign providers with the UTT are also being reviewed. "We also want to look at the number of consultants (hired by the UTT)," the minister added. "We have two other major universities in T&T and are substantially funded by the Government and the taxpayers. We want to ensure that the original mandate of these universities is followed.
"We have noticed that the UTT has virtually been absorbed in a lot of other agencies, many of which have been doing work on their own–and quite good work." Karim said the probe is also to determine whether the UTT graduates and programmes were informed by labour market surveys, so that "when our students graduate that there are job opportunities for them in T&T and the region. "There is also the concern in terms of the quality management issues of the programmes and therefore we need to determine if we are competing with the universities that we are funding as opposed to ensuring we have the specialism at the various universities," he said.
"What we are saying is that we want to maximise the taxpayers' dollar in the investment in human capital for the development of T&T." He said funding for the UTT was also under review. "Before we can say how much funding will be allocated, we must know how much we have... so there will be a list of priorities and that will be one of the immediate priorities of the new UTT board," the minister said. He said he would be taking a note to Cabinet shortly for the appointment of a new Board of Governors of the University of T&T. Karim said the Cipriani Labour College would remain separate from the UTT. The former Patrick Manning administration was moving to put the College under the management of the UTT. There was strong objection to that plan by the college.
