The D Y Patil Group, one of the largest private educators in India and which is also looking at agriculture here, says it will shortly begin building a medical college at Turkeyen to which other schools will be added.
In a statement yesterday, its General Manager Dilip Kawad said that discerning the need for a “first class Medical College in the Caribbean”, the Group decided to establish its University here “because of its interest to build a strong link with Guyana and to offer Guyanese a medical education without the need to leave their home country if they so choose. “
It said the Group will hire a Guyanese construction firm to erect this facility and will employ Guyanese and “world renowned faculty” to ensure that it offers the best possible education to its students. It said that the first batch of students will begin their courses early next year.
It added that the Group will also utilize local faculty for some of the courses and will hire other Guyanese during construction and later for its operations at the University. It said that the facility will be a net foreign exchange earner.
In a later phase it said that the Group will include Engineering, Allied Health and a Masters in Business Administration.
According to the statement, the Group was established in 1983 and its activities span the fields of Education, Healthcare, Agriculture and Sports. It has over 180 Institutes of learning in three universities based out of the cities of Navi Mumbai, Pune and Kolhapur in India. The Group runs three Medical Colleges and Hospitals with a capacity of over 6000 beds and provides affordable healthcare and medical attention to scores of people.
In recent years, several offshore medical schools have set up campuses here but it is unclear whether their standards of teaching are being monitored. The growing offering of medical education here will likely have an adverse impact on the University of Guyana’s Medical School.
D Y Patil came to notice here last year after Stabroek News reported that a Memorandum of Understanding had been clinched with the government for a large acreage.
Kawad in December last year had said then that the MOU signed with the Government of Guyana was for the cultivation of over 50,000 hectares of land and was in the preliminary stages. This had raised eyebrows as there had been no prior disclosures here by the government about an MOU or the rationale behind it.
“We must clearly state that no land has been handed over to us and neither have we commenced any activities on the said land,” Kawad said in a statement to Stabroek News after the concerns were raised.
“The final agreement is still subject to the terms and conditions that are still under negotiations and will only be concluded when both parties are mutually satisfied,” he added.
Kawad further affirmed that the group is very committed to making this project successful; hence the need for lot of due diligence, pre-viability and technical studies before it begins operations.
While Kawad confirmed that the MOU was for 50,000 hectares of land, Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy had told Stabroek News that the Group was already given 10,000 hectares in the Canje Basin. He said, “DY Patil negotiated for an agricultural project in Guyana. They have been given access to 10,000 acres of land. They will, like other investors, have access to more land if they develop the 10,000 acres in accordance with the agreement that they have with us.” He noted that the Group has submitted a proposal to grow corn and sugar cane for biodiesel.
Observers and commentators have raised questions about the deal struck between the government and the Patil Group, particularly because of the latter’s connection to powerbrokers here and because the government has provided no information on it.
Kawad in December had also sought to clarify the Chairman of the Group’s connection with former President Bharrat Jagdeo, stating that both have been awarded the doctorate by a reputable UK University at different occasions and Dr Ajeenkya D Y Patil was awarded the doctorate many years before it was awarded to Jagdeo. “The same is the case of the doctorate given by the D Y Patil University in India to… Jagdeo in view of his excellent work done,” he noted.
