Nalini Budhram, the operator of a “medical school” on Lamaha Street was on Tuesday detained by the police following complaints by students and their parents over concerns that the facility was not legitimate.
There was a long standoff as students awaited her departure from the building. The police eventually entered the building using a ladder and escorted her out. Up to yesterday she was in police custody.
Budhram had faced similar allegations in the past. This time around, questions about the legitimacy of the school were raised after students who wrote examinations in July were unable to uplift their certificates.
One student told Stabroek News that she had completed the one-year medical technician course at a cost of $11,500 a month and written exams in July, yet when she attempted to contact the principal for her certificate she couldn’t. “She block me on Facebook, whatsapp, viber everything so I just show up for my certificate or my money”, the student said.
Other students and parents who were also suspicious reportedly lodged complaints with the Alberttown Police Station and contacted several media houses.
When they showed up, the woman refused to leave the premises. Subsequently, four police ranks who had by this time arrived, were unable to gain entry even with the landlord’s assistance as the woman had changed the locks to the building.
The officers were eventually forced to use a ladder and enter through a sliding glass window at the front of the building. Budhram who refused to speak to the media, was then escorted to the station by the ranks.
The students who were mostly from the West Coast of Demerara said they learnt of the school through a television advertisement. Their confidence was boosted by the rigorous syllabus requirements and the qualifications of the lecturers, all of whom are local doctors. “She was teaching. Nobody can’t say she wasn’t teaching,” a bewildered student related.
