Karim plans forensic probe, new board for UTT

The government of Trinidad and Tobago will conduct a forensic investigation into the hiring practices at the University of T&T (UTT) and the integrity of its programs.

Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education Fazal Karim made the disclosure Tuesday in an interview with the Trinidad Guardian.

He said many people who have worked at the university have mnade allegations about the failure of the UTT to adhere to proper procedures and policies, adding that there are serious concerns about the university's accreditation and integrity of the programs.

Karim told the paper the audit will also look at the per capita cost of students and training at UTT as well as review memorandum of agreements or relationships with foreign universities and foreign providers with the UTT.

"We also want to look at the number of consultants...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.

One the things the probe will focus on, he said, is 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."

He said, “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...

"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,” the minister said.

"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.

Karim is working on putting together members of a new board to submit to cabinet.