Minister of Education Alden McLaughlin said Friday he will meet with the Board of Governors of the University College of the Cayman Islands to raise the issue of the need to do a complete assessment of the conditions of the facility.
The statement came two days after a front-page Caymanian Compass article outlined the results of a survey conducted by the UCCI Student Representative Council. That survey showed considerable dissatisfaction by the students for certain aspects of the college, particularly the facilities.
University president Sam Basdeo had said in the article that UCCI had not received any of its insurance claims resulting from Hurricane Ivan damage despite making repeated submissions and an assurance that the claim would be settled by 31 January 2006.
However, Mr. McLaughlin said he had been advised by Risk Management, the unit of the Government that deals with insurance claims, that UCCI had only submitted its claim in November 2005, 14 months after the hurricane.
In addition, Risk Management had requested additional information concerning the claim that had yet to be received, Mr. McLaughlin said.
‘Therefore, the January payout date could not be met.’
Mr. McLaughlin said that under legislative guidelines, UCCI has its control vested in the Board of Governors.
Except for dealings like the acquisition or disposal of UCCI assets and the appointment or removal of its president, consultation with the Minister of Education is not required.
‘That is not to say that Government and this minister will fold his arms and say there’s nothing that can be done, we have to wait for matters to take their course,’ Mr. McLaughlin said.
Still, the Minister of Education did not like the apparent attempt to shift blame to government.
‘They cannot on one hand take the responsibility (to operate UCCI) and then when there is criticism, seek to put the responsibility somewhere else,’ Mr. McLaughlin said.
‘I do not want to get into a (criticising) match with the president and the Board of Governors, but they did not talk to me before they spoke to the press,’ he said. ‘What they’ve said has been misleading and I cannot just sit back.’
Contacted Friday afternoon, Mr. Basdeo said he was not criticising the Ministry of Education.
‘The Minister and the Ministry is categorically not to be blamed in any form whatsoever for us not getting the insurance money from Risk Management,’ he said. ‘From the very beginning, we have been dealing with Risk Management. We paid for the insurance coverage to Risk Management.’
Mr. McLaughlin noted that based on the Student Representative Council’s report, not all of UCCI’s problems could be blamed on Hurricane Ivan.
One particular issue he planned to raise with the Board of Governors was the need to assess the mould and air quality situation at UCCI.
The SRC report mentioned mould growing on classrooms ceiling tiles, on walls and in air conditioning ventilation ducts. Some students have developed respiratory problems such as sneezing, one SRC member said.
In the 8 February Caymanian Compass article, UCCI Board of Governors Chairman Danny Scott had said Mr. Basdeo would retire at the end of the school term. He said the Board was hoping to put a Caymanian in the chair to replace Mr. Basdeo, but he was unsure if that were possible.
Mr. McLaughlin said a search committee had been convened and a job description developed to be advertised both locally and internationally.
‘I do have a degree of influence (in the selection of a new president) Mr. McLaughlin said.
‘We’ll see who those advertisements attract and we will appoint the best person for the post regardless if they’re Caymanian or non-Caymanian,’ he said.
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