Cabinet entertains investors’ proposals to establish another medical school here to fill the gap left by many Asian institutions

Cabinet is considering a proposal to establish another medical school on the
island, as two investors allegedly have expressed an interest in doing so.
The investors, who reportedly met with the Executive on Wednesday, June 5,
said they would be targeting persons from Asia.
 
Government spokesperson Lionel “Max” Hurst says the students would come
primarily from Pakistan and India, although others from different countries
would likely attend. The faculty would also be recruited from the source
states, while others would be sourced from various other nations, he adds.
 

According to the investors, Pakistan offers only 50,000 spaces for the training
of medical doctors. However, some 100,000 students, the investors say, wish
to pursue studies in medicine.
 
That gap, the investors believe, can be filled by the offshore medical schools
they operate in several states.
 
The Cabinet reportedly has provided the investors with the assurances they
require, with further negotiations expected to continue in the coming days.
 
There are currently two medical schools operating in Antigua and Barbuda.
There is the American University of Antigua (AUA), which has been in
operation for about two decades and gets its students primarily from Asia,
Africa and the United States.

Then there is the longstanding University of Health Sciences Antigua (UHSA),
with which Minister of Foreign Affairs  Paul “Chet” Greene had a run-in on
March 3, 2022.

At the time, he reportedly went onto the property unannounced and toured it
with persons who were suspected to be investors.
 
Prior to that incident, the Cabinet had issued a statement claiming that the
Dow Hill school was closed and that the Government was seeking to acquire it
– despite the Piccadilly property having been leased to the university several
decades ago.
 
Meanwhile, in 2017, the Atlantic University School of Medicine attempted to
operate a school here. However, it was having an issue receiving accreditation
from the Antigua and Barbuda National Accreditation Board, after having left
St. Lucia over such challenges.
 
Other reports said the medical school did not have accreditation for its
programmes from the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education
in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP)- established in 2003.
 

The Cabinet had subsequently received a report that Atlantic was taking steps
towards achieving the required accreditation. But  it is unclear what became
of this issue.