Bibi Shadick as UG Pro-Chancellor: Guyana is a parched wasteland

AUGUST 27, 2015 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER FEATURES / COLUMNISTS, FREDDIE KISSOON

On Tuesday evening at 10 o’clock, I called five lawyers to ask a question for this column here. All of them gave the identical answer without me telling them what the others said. Interestingly none wanted their name to be quoted. I don’t know why, but I guess they each have their own reason. My own attitude about their decline is because Guyana is still in that mode where people are afraid to be identified. Here is the question. Could there be a legal contract between employee and employer and the employer cannot terminate the contract? All five lawyers told me no such contract exists or will ever exist. Last week the highest decision-making body at the University of Guyana, the Council, met in session, with Bibi Shadick as the chairman in her capacity as Pro-Chancellor. This columnist has been informed by some of the most authoritative voices in the Government that Ms. Shadick has refused to resign and since her contract has two more years, the Government has to accept her as Pro-Chancellor. To say this is elephant dung is to put it mildly. Every contract gives the employer an exit door. It is how the employer uses that pathway that causes the employee to litigate. Take the 2012 termination of my contract at UG. My contract stated in unambiguous terms that I was employed based on the statutes of the University. Those statues compel the university to follow certain guidelines when an academic is fired. Even the layman would know how that operates. You have to be written to; told what complaint is made against you; offered a hearing. In my case none of these requirements were followed and the Ombudsman ruled that the legal advice he received was that my termination was illegal. The corporate world has some interesting contracts. You can be fired without notice or the contract can be terminated by an immediate letter. But in all circumstances in the corporate world, the contract includes huge financial compensation for abrupt termination. Most CEO’s in the corporate world would not sign a contract where the contract can be ended and notice in writing is not required without insisting on a major financial termination package. The Government cannot be serious when it says that since Shadick has a contract for the next two years, she has to remain as Pro-Chancellor. It is not only that it is not serious, but it may well be deceiving the Guyanese people. Since Bibi Shadick is currently head of the UG Council then she would not cancel her contract, because only the Council can fire the Pro-Chancellor. But that does not mean there is absolutely no way Bibi Shadick can be removed as Pro-Chancellor. The Vice Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor are academic positions. The Chancellor’s is not. A retired high UN official, a retired top, decorated, army general, a retired top, globally recognized CEO, a former Chief Justice, a former Prime Minister or President can be a Chancellor. When it comes to the other positions, the holders of those offices must be academics. An academic is a person involved in academia. They have to be working at an academic institution. They must be involved in either teaching or researching at an academic institution. Must have appeared at academic conferences where their research was presented. Must have publication in journals or books. In most instances, the Pro-Chancellor must have higher degrees. This has been so hundreds of years ago. It is simply not possible for the most brilliant manager of the world’s most patronized supermarket to be the Pro-Chancellor of a university. A doctor who is engaged in research and has published his/her findings will be eligible for an academic post. Scientific and intellectual research is sine qua non for being called an academic. Bibi Shadick is very far away from meeting any of these criteria. Ms. Shadick’s profession is law and not in the teaching of law, but a court attorney. Ms. Shadick does not have a higher degree beyond the LL.B. Ms. Shadick has not given written judgements on the law that would be considered of academic value, since she has never been a Judge. Ms. Shadick has never been associated with a tertiary educational institution in Guyana. Ms. Shadick appeared on the Council of UG five years ago as the representative of the ruling party, the PPP. She was made Pro-Chancellor months before the 2015 General Elections. I say unapologetically, Bibi Shadick is unfit to be UG’s Pro-Chancellor. Can her contract be rescinded legally? A school boy knows that can be done.