Students threaten injunction

Jan 30, 2009 News

Bogus nursing school…

…owner had perpetrated many frauds in the past

The bogus nursing school saga took an interesting twist late yesterday afternoon when students decided to retain the services of a lawyer after owner of the ‘so-called’ professional entity, Nanda Kissoon, was released on bail and did not fulfil a verbal agreement to refund registration and tuition fees to all of the students.
About 30 of the students had received part payment amounting to more than $200,000 the previous day but, according to reports, the woman had deducted some students’ refund money based on the condition of textbooks and other reading materials she had given them to aid their respective courses. Upon her release yesterday, the students said that the woman promised that she would refund them their money on Monday.
However, the students claim that the level of deception exhibited by the woman so far has caused them to be fearful that she will not fulfil her promise and may even flee the country without first refunding them, thus their move to retain counsel.
The students still awaiting payment number more than 100 and, according to them, a relative of the woman has threatened that they will receive no money.
This newspaper understands that each course offered by the institution had a tuition fee of more than $100,000.
Once they have secured the injunction, the students are hoping that the woman will be prevented from leaving the country should she desire to do so and that she will be mandated to pay them what is owed to them.
Kissoon was taken into police custody on Tuesday after the students enrolled at the Inter-American Nursing School attempted to uncover whether the school was involved in fraudulent activities as was announced by Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy recently.
The Minister had handed such information to the police and had warned a number of the students to get out of the institution.
The woman attempted to escape a confrontation with the students on Tuesday but was held by the police who took her to the Alberttown Police Station where she was interrogated.
Scores of students offered statements of the operation of the school, which offered a wide variety of medical courses all taught by the woman alone.
The students were told that once they had secured certificates they could be recruited as health workers to work in the United States and even pursue further medical training at the Ministry of Health’s nursing schools.
Minister Ramsammy had disclosed that he is satisfied that the matter is now in the hands of the police even as he disclosed that the woman who is a known con-artist has used about five aliases over the years.
The Minister related that he was forced to close a laboratory called the Instant Laboratory which was operated by the woman in the year 2001 when he re-assumed the post of Health Minister.
According to the Minister, the woman had represented herself as one Dr Nikita Basdeo, adding that it was eventually discovered that the woman was never qualified as a doctor.
About two years later the Minister said that the woman returned bearing the name Donna Gomes and representing herself as a Bio-Engineer.
The woman, he said, was successful in persuading a number of medical entities to retain her services to maintain laboratory equipment.
And according to the Minister, the woman was able to have a number of the entities sign contracts with her allowing her to misrepresent herself for a period.
After her scam was detected by the Health Ministry and the police were called in, the Minister said that the woman once again disappeared, returning this time around with the nursing school delusion and, according to reports, bearing the name, Dr Nanda Kissoon.
The Minister expressed disappointment that again several young persons have been swindled by the woman but noted his satisfaction that the deception was not allowed to be continued for much longer.
According to the Minister, there is no way that his Ministry could keep track of all deceptive operations, thus it is reliant on citizens to be its eyes and ears.
And in order to ensure that the students can be able to gain some level of qualifications after spending so much, the Minister said that he will try to accommodate as many students as possible into courses that they qualify for, once the requisite requirements are met. The Ministry offers courses free of cost.