Tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim said Government was hoping to offer doctors post-graduate degrees at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital.
Speaking to reporters at the Couva/Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce’s seminar on development yesterday, Karim said the need for specialists in forensic pathology and neurology was on a list of needs at the Ministry of Public Administration.
His statements came even as the Forensic Science Centre, St James, is seeking to fill existing vacancies.
Karim said discussions were being held with the Ministry of Health and the Faculty of Medical Science at the University of the West Indies to have a degree programme implemented locally.
Last Monday, families of the deceased were turned away from the centre as none of the two contracted forensic pathologists were available to perform autopsies.
Although he acknowledged there was a reluctance by doctors to specialise in those fields, he said it was also because many people had to go abroad of complete the lengthy training.
Karim added: “While we may want to look at people from abroad, we have to prepare ourselves for the future.
“I think what has happened is that we have not offered the high level of qualification and training in Trinidad and we are now doing that. In fact, the Ministry of Public Adminstration has a needs list and that is one of the items on that list to provide training both here and abroad.
“We also have a shortage of neurologists as well and in all the areas that are in need, we are addressing them.
“One of ways we are going to do that is by starting at the teaching hospital in San Fernando very shortly when we start classes. It is a speciality area, it is post-graduate as well, that is why it takes that long. Even while you are learning, you can be practising, under supervision of course,” Karim said.
New campuses ready
With the tertiary education participation rate now at 62.5 per cent, Karim said the new University of the West Indies’ Faculty of Law at Debe and the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of T&T (Costaatt) main campus at Chaguanas will take in its first batch of students in September/October.
“We are ready to open, UWI Campus Penal/Debe. We have the moot court, the law faculty and the law administration building completed and we are going to be opening it in phases and in the new academic year students will be there attending classes.
“At Costaatt, we will be ready by September as we already had the capping off ceremony. Costaatt continues at a pace, thank God we are getting good weather and by September we will have classes starting,” he added.