ST. JOHN’S, Antigua — The University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus may have to limit enrollment in its new law degree programme after receiving far more applications than anticipated, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said Saturday.
Speaking on the Browne and Browne radio programme, Browne revealed that 137 prospective students have already applied for admission, creating concerns about whether the campus has sufficient space and resources to accommodate them all when the programme launches.
“We have about 137 applicants already,” Browne said. “The challenge now is whether we have the space to accommodate all of them.”
The Prime Minister described the level of interest as a strong vote of confidence in the programme, which is expected to provide students in Antigua and Barbuda and across the region with greater access to legal education without having to study overseas.
However, Browne acknowledged that university officials are now examining whether enrollment may need to be capped in the programme’s inaugural year.
“We may very well have to cap the number,” he said, noting that the demand has exceeded initial expectations.
The Prime Minister said the government and the university are exploring options to expand capacity while maintaining academic standards and ensuring that students receive a quality educational experience.
Browne also used the discussion to defend the government’s investment in higher education, arguing that expanding opportunities for tertiary studies is critical to national development and social mobility.
He noted that the administration has committed to subsidizing tuition costs for students entering the law programme, with the government expected to cover approximately half of the tuition expense.
According to Browne, the law programme forms part of a broader strategy to strengthen the educational pipeline in Antigua and Barbuda by increasing access to professional training and reducing the financial burden on families.
The Prime Minister said the unexpectedly high number of applicants demonstrates the pent-up demand for legal education and validates the decision to establish the programme at the Five Islands Campus.
University officials are expected to determine in the coming weeks how many students can be accommodated in the first intake and whether additional measures will be required to meet demand.
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AI can give you the answer to your legal problem. You can go online and read the same law books the lawyers read to get your answers.
You can see how to fix a plumbing problem but you need manpower to do it. Everyone wants to be a lawyer these days. Getting a tradesman now is like pulling teeth. But still, we want our children to pass twenty-two subjects and become lawyers and accountants.
There are many lawyers in Antigua who are catching their nenen to eat. They want to do a job and from that one job pay all their bills with that one pay check. Their poor pay day is making them indulge in all types of skullduggery and nefarious practices. Some of them watch their elder more successful peers and want to emulate them. They pretend not to see all the illegal and immoral things they do because they too want to do just like them and build up their wealth by cutting corners, holding on to client’s money and property, overcharging and other things. Many of them are good at memorizing the laws books but are very poor in the courtroom or dealing with clients.
It could be that these new aspirants are in love with the legal dramas they see on TV or they want a job that they don’t have to scrub dirt off their hands. Or more, Mommy and Daddy want so much to see their child in that black gown.
Some advice is for them to go and learn a trade that will help feed their families.
Everything these days are water down, so what you keep getting is half the effort when you hire almost anyone these days.
GASTON BROWNE,DID YOU RUN YOUR MOUTH AND MADE PROMISES. BEFORE YOU DISCUSSED THIS MATTER WITH THE UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT STAFF.IN MY OPINION,ANTIGUA NEEDS A STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL.
Smh, these students don’t even know how to make money, law law my foot. Wait they will realize later when the realities in life sets in. I don’t even know where they will work.
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