Every teaching institution must first go through an accreditation process with the Ministry of Education to ensure all the applicable standards are met. And if this is not done, the institution is deemed ‘unrecognised’ but in spite of this there are several uncertified schools in existence here.
One such is the Inter-American Nursing School. Though it was opened last August, officials in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health were unaware of its existence until a few weeks ago.
It was Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy who made public the bogus institution which had scammed hundreds of unsuspecting young people — who desperately wanted to get into the health sector — out of millions of dollars.
Speaking to Stabroek News recently on the accreditation process, Minister within the Ministry of Education, Dr Desrey Fox said that the first step is filling out a form which one can uplift from the office of the Chief Education Officer, Genevieve Whyte-Nedd. She said that there is an Accreditation Act and Board that deal with proper standards.
Minister Fox pointed out that in 2006, a decision was made to take up the accreditation issue and a Board was set up to look at the process in its entirety as well as to see what could be done to strengthen it.
New Accreditation Board
During the telephone interview, she informed this newspaper that Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon had, early last week, named a new Accreditation Board.
It is unclear who the new members of the board are or whether the old board had been functioning.
Fox added that the ministry cannot recognise what a school is doing if it is not accredited and stressed that the owners must adhere to the standards.
“Not anyone can set up a school like that. They must be first registered with the ministry.”
She said that there is one local university (name given) that was set up some time ago and to date has not been certified to operate. The minister stated that recently many of the students have been complaining about the quality of teaching, among other issues at that institution.
She was uncertain if there is a procedure to close down such institutions but pointed out that efforts will be made in the near future to clamp down on them since it is a cause of concern for her ministry.
Efforts to contact Whyte-Nedd or Minister of Education Shaik Baksh for additional information were unsuccessful.
In the case of a nursing school, Fox said that it would have to be a collaborative effort between the Board and the Ministry of Health and teams would have to visit the location to ensure all the standards are being met.
Certificates
not valid
According to Dr Ramsammy, because the bogus nursing school was never accredited, the courses being offered cannot be recognised nor can the certificates awarded be valid for entry into the programme at the University of Guyana.
Ramsammy recently cleared the air on exactly what is to be done when one intends to open a medical facility, whether it is a hospital, lab or training school.
With regard to health facilities he said there is a Health Facility Licensing Act which had its regulations. He said if anyone plans to open a hospital, he/she must first go to the ministry and give a proposal of his/her intention. Once it is satisfactory, a provisional licence is granted so as to allow that person to build their facility or rent a building. When that has been achieved, the ministry must then be once again informed and a team comprising doctors, nurses, medical technicians, and sanitation workers among others will go and inspect the location. Once that is satisfied a licence to operate is granted.
However it is somewhat different when one wants to open a teaching facility, for example a nursing school.
According to Ramsammy, all schools, regardless of what they will be teaching must be registered with the Education Ministry but he pointed out that this alone is not enough. He said that it all depends on what you are producing.
“If it is a school of nursing then the graduates must be able to register with the accreditation body of their chosen profession,” he noted.
He further stated that the owner of the school can go to the respective councils whether it is dental, pharmacy or nursing to discuss their programmes.
Ramsammy stated that if someone opens such a school, he/she must make arrangements for students to get attachments at a hospital to do their practical sessions.
In the case of the bogus nursing school, Nalini Budhram had told her students that attachments would be done at Woodlands, Davis Memorial and Georgetown Public Hospital, but this turned out to be untrue, he stated.
Asked how the school’s existence eluded his ministry despite the advertisements in the press, Ramsammy responded that the various councils should have looked into it.
He further pointed out that it is the responsibility of the relevant authorities and members of the public to be vigilant against persons like Budhram.
According to him the fact that she alone was collecting money and teaching the students, was enough to arouse suspicion.
He said that when he first heard of the incident while in Berbice he “immediately drew it to the attention of the press”, adding that over 200 persons had been swindled.