Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Even though the University of the West Indies has announced that the Debe campus will open in August to house its newly launched Global School of Medicine (GSM), the Government has chosen to hire a consultant to review the infrastructure and begin repairs in August instead.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar made the announcement on Monday night, reaffirming her commitment to realising the vision of establishing a state-of-the-art law campus in south Trinidad.
Reflecting on her time studying at the Mona Campus in Jamaica, Persad-Bissessar reminisced about the beauty of the UWI Mona campus nestled in a valley of Jamaica’s famous Blue Mountains. She said it was her dream to have a university in Debe, and that dream will be fulfilled.
Giving a timeline, she explained, “We will begin work on this campus shortly. We will engage a consultant who will then provide a scope of work for repairs. Firstly we have to go in and see what’s there.
“We have to find out what is good, what is not good and what needs to be fixed. A consultant will find out what are the scope of works. That will happen during this school vacation time. Then we will go to phase 2 and see what needs to be done. The consultant will be brought in July and a scope of works prepared and repairs will begin in August, so Debe campus I have not forgotten you.”
The Debe campus, which began construction in 2012 with a $499 million budget, was initially intended to house the Faculty of Law. The project was targeted for completion in 2014. In 2019, UWI said the site would instead be used by the Faculty of Medical Sciences. In 2023, then education minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said the campus would become a medical school, with partial funding from a proposed $330 million bond.
The Division of Facilities Management (DFM), which oversees all UWI buildings and infrastructure, had identified sewer problems in a 2022 internal report on the campus. However, a source said that department will not be leading the current works.
Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine declined to comment on whether the university’s engineering or facilities departments could conduct a scope of works. She said, “I mentioned before the VC is handling this matter since it is an official approved UWI project. I myself know nothing except what you have shared. All the best.”
Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal, who toured the site recently, said the campus was in a “horrible state”.
Antoine had promised a media tour of the campus in June but this did not materialise.
UWI in a statement revealed the self-financing Global School of Medicine, had been approved by the UWI University Council in 2021 as the new flagship of the Penal-Debe site.
It said the GSM will cater primarily to international students and is expected to bring “economic and social benefit through increased access to education, medical services, international visibility and foreign exchange earnings”.
The university confirmed that key buildings at the campus—including the academic building, student union, auditorium, health facility, cafeteria, and gymnasium—have been restored to a high standard and are ready for use.
