GEORGETOWN – What was meant to be a proud celebration of academic achievement at the University of Guyana’s 6th 2025 Convocation has now ignited a fierce public debate, after Vincent Alexander of The Burnham Foundation accused national leaders of using the university’s platform to promote what he calls “blatant revisionism.”
Alexander, who attended the ceremony, said he was deeply moved by the outstanding acceptance speech delivered by honouree Dr. Nicolette Fernandes, praising her humility and her devotion to truth. But, he said, that moment of inspiration was overshadowed by something far more alarming: an attempt to quietly reshape Guyana’s historical record.
According to Alexander, both President Irfaan Ali and the President of the UG Alumni Association’s Berbice Chapter used the convocation to herald the introduction of free tertiary education in 2025 as a groundbreaking national achievement.
In Alexander’s view, this narrative conveniently ignores a key historical fact known to generations of Guyanese, that free education from nursery to secondary school was introduced in 1976 under President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.
For Alexander, the omission was not just a slip. It was a warning.“To sit there and listen to misleading proclamations presented as national truth was unsettling,” he said, questioning how such a foundational piece of Guyanese history could be erased so easily on a stage where accuracy is supposed to be sacred.
He argued that the University of Guyana must never become “a willing host for historical distortion,” whether intentional or accidental. The institution, he said, has an obligation to safeguard the integrity of the national record, not bend it.
“The University must be the impenetrable citadel and protector of truth,” Alexander insisted. “Our history must be protected at all costs.” His message has since sparked a wider conversation: If historical facts can be softened or rewritten at UG’s own convocation, what else is at risk of being reshaped?
Alexander’s warning lands at a time when concerns about political messaging, national memory, and institutional independence are already running high, and he is urging UG to draw a firm line before more of the past is quietly pushed aside.
