NAC has capacity to help prepare offshore medical schools for accreditation

Oct 16, 2018 News

---

Even as concerns continue to mount over the accreditation status, or lack thereof, of offshore medical schools here in Guyana, the National Accreditation Council [NAC] has made it clear that while it can lend these institutions support to be accredited, it can only do so if asked.
At least this is according to an NAC official, who yesterday informed this publication that the institution is always ready and willing to lend its support.
Based on information that has reached Kaieteur News, while it is believed that the NAC has the power to fully accredit such institutions, this is not the case.
This publication was told that the NAC is responsible for registering these institutions so that they can operate in Guyana.
“We can register them, because that is what is legally required of the NAC,” the official said.
In order for these institutions to be accredited, they must subscribe to a number of criteria. Moreover, among the areas that are examined for them to be registered include: governance, policies regarding students, financing, facilities, faculty, among others.
“While we [NAC] do the ground work, we have evaluators, like doctors and so, who come in to evaluate these institutions that are seeking registration,” said the official.
Indeed the operators of these institutions are fully aware that they cannot be accredited by NAC, this publication was informed.
There are reports that some of these institutions have been advertising themselves as internationally accredited and have been luring students from as far as India and Africa to take advantage of their programmes.
Kaieteur News has however learnt that at least one institution, the Texila American University [TAU], had sought international accreditation from the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions [CAAM-HP], but it was denied.
CAAM-HP, which was established in 2003, is an accrediting body for medical, veterinary and dental schools for the Caribbean Community [CARICOM] member states.
Reports reaching this publication suggest that TAU was denied accreditation despite its claims that it had complied with the demands of CAAM-HP.
When this development was communicated to an official at NAC yesterday, the official assured that the NAC was not aware that TAU was denied accreditation, and therefore could not offer a position on the matter.
“At this time we cannot express any official concern, but we do encourage these medical schools to continue to seek accreditation with CAAM-HP.”
“We don’t know on what grounds they were denied accreditation and unless we see the report [they got from CAAM-HP], we don’t know how to help them. Our role also is to help institutions to come to a place where they can stand up to international scrutiny. Unless they are willing to share their challenges and shortcomings, we don’t know how to help…we can provide training, we can provide technical support and so, but we can’t do that unless they are willing to open-up,” said the official.
The official continued, “It is not just for their benefit but for the benefit of their students and their faculty as well, because it can affect their standing. Each institution must do a self-study to see where they are and where they need to improve. In this global competitive world meeting those standards and continuous development is encouraged.”
Currently, the only institution that provides tertiary medical education in Guyana, which benefits from CAAM-HP accreditation, is the University of Guyana [UG]’s School of Medicine. Achieving accreditation and maintaining that accredited status has not been an easy task, even for that institution which has been in existence for a number of years. This is in light of the fact that CAAM-HP conducts regular assessments to ensure that its accredited institutions have certain stipulated measures in place before they are reaccredited.
UG has on a few occasions lost its accreditation status and has had to work tirelessly to regain same. When asked to comment on the existing state of affairs regarding the offshore medical schools, Dr. Emanuel Cummings, who has been Dean of UG’s Faculty of Health Sciences Education for a number of years, a medical educator for even longer and has been affiliated with CAAM-HP too, advised that every effort be made by the institutions to be accredited.
“I want all of the offshore medical schools in Guyana to put systems in place to achieve CAAM-HP accreditation,” said Dr. Cummings.
The daunting development in Guyana comes at a time when a sister CARICOM country is moving to clamp down on offshore medical schools selling themselves in a deceptive manner.
The Barbados Sun in its October 6, 2018 edition, published an article headlined ‘Problems at Washington University’ which speaks to such deception. The article read, “The Chief Executive Officer of the Washington University of Barbados, Gopi Venkat Rao, was taken into police custody yesterday.”
“Prior to his departure there was a long meeting with Government officials, students and the staff of the institution located at the Casa Grande Hotel at Oldbury, St. Phillips,” the article outlined. It continued by highlighting that “Issues ranged from the legitimacy of the establishment to poor living conditions. After the meeting was adjourned, Rao left the campus escorted by police.”
According to Dr. Cummings, while offshore schools could significantly benefit a country’s economy, it must be done in a legitimate matter. Such a move is crucial, he noted, if Guyana is to truly reap the benefits that medical education can bring.
Barbados is said to have seven offshore medical schools and is reportedly quickly becoming a hub for such activities. This development comes on the heels of the island nation’s tourism sector which is now redirecting focus to medical tourism.

---

---