UWI exams rescheduled over protests

Ongoing industrial action by UWI lecturers has led to the rescheduling of final examinations for some courses, a statement from UWI principal Rose-Marie Belle Antoine said.

Some exams which were scheduled for April 24-May 5 are now being held on May 15-May 19.

This comes as the West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT) has called for a boycott in the submission of exam question papers for this semester.

In a memorandum to UWI students on Friday, Prof Antoine said, “Though they have since agreed to submit the outstanding question papers on April 15, it is with a heavy heart that I note that some exams will be unavoidably postponed. The submission of the outstanding examination session, leaves insufficient time for the quality reproduction of these papers.”

She said the affected students will receive an updated final exam timetable in the coming weeks. Antoine advised regional and international students to reach out to their faculty and examination section if the new timetable is affecting their travel arrangements for getting back home.

Antoine said she is aware the postponement may affect arrangements at regional and international universities to have exams, already paid for by students, held there. She assured those students that UWI’s exam section will inform these universities to ensure alternative arrangements are made.

A list of all postponed exams was included in the memo to the students and she asked them to keep checking for any changes.

In an interview on Saturday, WIGUT's president Dr Indira Rampersad said rescheduling exams was not a disadvantage to students, since they would be given more time to study.

“There is no need to fear, they can still go forth and do their exams. They are not prejudiced in any way,” said Rampersad.

Members of WIGUT protested outside Antoine’s office,at the St Augustine campus on April 20 with placards, beating drums and shouting, “No pay!”

Rampersad said then it was not their intention to have exams rescheduled, but it will be used as a bargaining tool. She said she drew inspiration from UK teachers, who were withholding grades from students among other tactics in their protest.

In response, Antoine said students and management were frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations which brought about the protest.

She said UWI has done all it could to get the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) to work faster, since all the documents were submitted, and she does not know what else to do other than to keep pushing the CPO for the remits.

Antoine said there has been a lot of back-and-forth with the registrar and the CPO, but she cannot say what is happening behind the scenes.