Nursing school controversy…
EDUCATION Minister Shaik Baksh has said the registration of the embattled ‘School of Nursing’, at Lot 5 Cummings Street, Georgetown, is being reviewed.
He told the Guyana Chronicle it is being scrutinised for continued compliance on the basis of which it was granted. Mr. Baksh pointed out that the ‘school’ is not accredited by the National Accreditation Council, in accordance with Clause 3 (c) of Act No.12 of 2004, only registered and its certificates have not been evaluated to determine whether they meet recognised standards for accreditation.
The legitimacy of the entity was questioned when several students visited the Health Ministry last week and alleged that a woman, Nanda Kissoon, deceived them into paying monies for a nursing course that is not recognised  and through which they would be unable to secure licences to practise.
The complainants said they paid $4,000 for registration and $7,500 more, monthly, to secure the qualification that they would secure in 12 months instead of undergoing a three-year stint.
Many of them became involved because they were not in possession of all the requirements for entry into other nursing programmes, having fallen short of qualifications at the secondary level.
The same Kissoon complained about, under another name in 2009, was implicated in a similar scheme that was exposed by the Health Ministry and she was taken into police custody but no prosecution resulted.
Baksh maintained that institutions delivering educational programmes in Guyana must be registered and accredited by the Education Ministry’s Accreditation Council.
Additionally, Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said none offering allied training supersedes the professional bodies, which govern the practice of trained persons.

Cannot practise
For example, a nurse may complete a course but cannot practise without a licence from the Nursing Council which recognises legitimate programmes.
Ramsammy said the same goes for practising pharmacists whose practice is authorised by the Pharmacists’ Council and doctors and medexes, who are licensed by the Medical Council.
He insisted that training is a must in any professional or semi-professional capacity and in the health sector that requires professional qualifications acquired from recognised bodies.
Without such recognition, Ramsammy said, at the end of whatever programme being pursued, employment in the public sector would not be possible.
Anything that does not meet the set requirements is “absolute nonsense” and a “deception”, he cautioned.
Ramsammy said if, in the case of a bogus nursing school, there is a level of ignorance regarding the standard of allied health training, then the administrator is unfit to operate it in the first place.
“If you do not know, then you cannot run a nursing school,” he reiterated.
Ramsammy said the situation in the private sector is not much different, as it allows only “narrow flexibility” because of the stipulations in the Health Facilities Licensing Act, which demand a certain standard in the human resource capacity.
He said, in addition to meeting the requirements to be accredited and recognised, standards must be adhered to or recognition can be revoked.
“It is the responsibility of citizens to determine whether certification is acceptable for employment,” said Ramsammy.
He said the bottom line is that anything done in a professional capacity must come through the professional body, in this case the Nursing Council and all that is necessary is a telephone call to verify the validity of the institution that claims to be accredited.
The Health Ministry has, since the controversy over the Cummings Street entity erupted, extended support in the form of free training programmes for the affected students.