Freddie Kissoon misleads on doctorate

Freddie Kissoon misleads on doctorate

Dear Editor,

My good friend Freddie Kissoon wrote in a recent column that he “completed certification for the doctorate at the University of Toronto”. There is no such “certification” issued by University of Toronto or any doctoral degree granting institution in any part of the globe. If you complete the doctorate, you are granted a degree or diploma (PhD, DPhil, EdD etc). Some doctoral programmes (depending on the country and institution) require course work plus a Comprehensive Level I and Level II exam (oral and written exams as was the case with myself, David Hinds, Baytoram Ramharack and others), a dissertation (thesis used by Freddie) that must be defended before a doctoral committee that includes your supervisor or mentor. The dissertation can only be defended at the request and advice of the mentor or supervisor (to the department faculty) if he or she feels it can pass muster and if the student is ready. The dissertation can be rejected by the entire committee (minimum of three Professors) or delayed until suggestions or advices offered for revision are acted upon.

Freddie claims he did not submit his dissertation for the PhD; that often happens to several candidates for the doctorate for varied reasons. For example, people like Ramharack and myself were tied up with Guyana’s freedom struggle, and as such it took us longer than others to research, write and defend the dissertation.

Several people (Guyanese and non-Guyanese) who were among the student batch for the doctorate programme with Freddie at the Univ of Toronto (and obtained doctorates) stated otherwise. They claimed Freddie did submit his dissertation and it was rejected. Others said Freddie’s studies was terminated suddenly for violations of University rules and he had to forcibly return to Guyana dejected.

In Guyana, it is asserted by UG lecturers Freddie misled people into believing he was “Dr” until he was “outed” by supporters of the PNC working at UG. As revealed to me by a lecturer, it was not Indians or PPP supporters who betrayed him, and that led to his salary title demotion at UG. After he was outed, SN publisher David DeCaires terminated his column; off course, David recognized Freddie wrote a whole lot of non-sense.

Whatever the case of his degree, the University of Toronto did not issue a certification to anyone who did (unfinished) doctoral studies. It was either you got the doctorate or not. Those who completed their work got doctorate. Those who did not complete the studies were not issued “certification” as being in the doctoral programme.

That is misleading people. It would seem odd that a person would be given a certification for the PhD up to the thesis level if the degree requires a thesis.

Yours truly,

Vishnu Bisram