The Atlantic University School of Medicine (AUSM) is yet to receive accreditation from the Antigua and Barbuda National Accreditation Board (ABNAB).
Director of Education Clare Browne, who also sits of the ABNAB said the Board is not in receipt of an application for registration.
Browne noted that “any tertiary institution operating within our borders must be registered with the Antigua and Barbuda Accreditation Board”.
The medical school left St Lucia over accreditation issues.
Reports are that the medical school did not have accreditation for its programmes from the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP) – established in 2003.
This body gives accreditation to dental, veterinary and medical educational institutions within Caricom and is accepted by the Unites States as a standard equal to standards used in medical institutions in the US.
According to information, without CAAM-HP students would not be able to work in the Caribbean, and the education department in St Lucia has been pressing the medical school since 2010 to obtain this accreditation.
Further reports are that up until recently the AUSM had accreditation from the US-based agency – Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) – which gives accreditation to medical schools outside of the US to allow foreign graduates to use their degrees to seek employment in that country.
Browne said all tertiary institutions, “whether medical or school or otherwise” intending to set up in Antigua must register with the ABNAB.
“…they must be added to the register by the board. It’s a quasi-government body, a statutory body falling under the Ministry of Education,” Browne said.
The Cabinet said last week it has received a report that AUSM is taking steps towards achieving the required accreditation.
Students have begun arriving on island, and one of the principals is here making all the necessary preparations for the school’s opening next month.
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