News Releases

UWI responds to Med School robbery

For Release Upon Receipt - February 8, 2013

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – St Augustine Campus Principal, Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Clement Sankat yesterday expressed great sadness over the incident at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope where medical students of The University of the West Indies (UWI) were robbed during a morning class.

Saying he was outraged that the criminal elements in our society would attack our students in their classroom, Professor Sankat conceded that despite general security, the fact that the EWMSC operates primarily as a hospital means that public access is fairly open. It makes it difficult to maintain the kind of security vigilance that we would like to see, he said, but added that UWI would be following this up with the authorities, to ensure that security efforts are tightened, especially around teaching and learning areas.

“We are always concerned about the wellbeing of our citizens,” he said, “and we are particularly mindful of those, like our staff and students, who are under our care.”

Speaking on behalf of the Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Professor Samuel Ramsewak, who is currently abroad, Deputy Dean, Dr Ian Sammy said that immediately after the incident, students were assisted in contacting relatives, reporting the incident to the police and given counselling. He accompanied the students to the St Joseph Police Station and said a few lecturers who were around at the time, had offered their support to the traumatized students.

The ten students and their lecturer had been at a class seminar on Thursday morning around 9.30 when two armed men entered and robbed them of their laptop computers, cell phones, jewellery and cash.

Professor Sankat wishes to thank the Campus and the National Police as well as the staff of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Mt. Hope for their efficient and caring response to this unfortunate incident. He also hopes that along with the support of the Campus, the students are able to recover fully from this ordeal and continue with their work.

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Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with 45 physical site locations across the region, serving 16 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Food & Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

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