Gov’t in talks with UWI to establish a school of medicine in Guyana-President Ali

The government is in discussions with the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Trinidad and Tobago to construct a UWI school of medicine in Guyana.

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali disclosed this while delivering the keynote address at the commissioning of a state-of-the-art pathology lab at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GHC) on Sunday.

“We are talking to the University of West Indies and moving the possibility of a school of medicine now in Region Six that has the capacity of bringing students from Suriname,” he said.  

The head of state emphasised that the government is working to ensure that the tuition fees for this institution in Guyana would be the same as in Trinidad.

“Importantly, in the negotiations, we are now working on ensuring that the rates are the same as local students in Trinidad and Tobago, so there will be equity and quality matched together,” President Ali.

The University of Guyana currently has its own School of Medicine, but an additional facility would provide incentives for innovation and improved quality.  

“Competition is a part of life and a necessity in improving quality,” President Ali noted.  

This level of interest in establishing the regional educational facility here underscores the impact that the government’s investments are making in expanding the country’s regional and international footprint.

Importantly, more institutions of this kind would address the current shortage of healthcare workers in the country.

Recently, the sod was turned for a modern training facility for nurses and nursing students at Suddie, along the Essequibo Coast to increase the number of qualified healthcare workers.

In addition to this, the Ministry of Health has launched a series of programmes to train persons on a large scale, such as the Decentralised Post Midwifery and Medical Laboratory Technician Training and Nursing Assistant training programmes.