Latest update April 20th, 2024 12:10 AM
Mar 23, 2013 News
The lack of accreditation of the University of Guyana’s School of Dentistry has students worried that their qualifications would only be valid in Guyana, thus limiting their abilities to explore other options in the Caribbean and further afield.
The dental programme which is done in collaboration with the University and the Ministry of Health has many challenges. But, failure to accredit the five-year programme even though students are paying $500,000 per year is worrisome.
Having the programme accredited by the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP) would require some house cleaning for quality assurance, said an official.
Admission into the dental programme is limited to the number of chairs available at the Dental Centre where third to fifth year students are exposed to the clinical aspect of dentistry and theory. The small class size lends to the lecturers being paid meagerly owing to UG’s payment system.
Consequently, some staff members have left the institution resulting in the late start of some programmes for the semester. This mediocrity is coupled with the unfair competition of having students from another University utilizing the dental chairs at the same time as UG’s students.
According to reports, more attention is given to the students of the private University because they are paying $5,000 per hour. At one point, to facilitate the students from the private University, UG’s students were forced to go to the West Demerara Regional Hospital to do their practical.
In addition, the Dental Centre lacks functional equipment and adequate materials for the students to execute their practical sessions.
The students believe that the University should consider that students are paying a hefty sum to be part of the programme and should reward the lecturers likewise. But, finances from the dentistry programme, like the School of Medicine, seem to be extended to cover other expenses of the Faculty of Health Sciences.
According to an observer, the University should invest in the present programmes rather than starting new programmes. It was recommended that the Schools of Dentistry and Medicine be merged and separated from the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Apparently, the School of Medicine is accredited by Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP). A team was recently in Guyana to evaluate the programme for reaccreditation. However, it remains a mystery if the programme will be reaccredited because of its challenges also.
Calls to the Dental Centre on numbers: 225-0700; and 227-1852 were unanswered. Calls to UG’s Faculty of Health Sciences on 222-3070 were also unanswered. The Vice Chancellor was not in office when this publication contacted his office.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
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