Sunday, July 18 2010

The University of the West Indies (UWI) is in full support of assisting Haiti by taking in 50 Haitian students to study at the three campuses of the university.

In a release sent Friday evening, the Marketing and Communications Department of the university said that since the catastrophic Haitian earthquake of January 12, 2010, the UWI has been working under the theme, “UWI for Haiti” to find ways to assist in Haitian rebuilding efforts.

The release stated that as part of the ongoing programme there had been an agreement that the university would accommodate final-year students from Haiti on the Mona, Cave Hill and St Augustine campuses to allow them to finish their various projects.

“The students, so far all from the State University of Haiti, have submitted their applications, which are being evaluated by the campuses to see how best their resources can admit them productively and to assess the students’s capacity,” the release stated.

The release stated that initial numbers at the St Augustine Campus had been projected at 75, but may actually turn out to be fewer after the assessments are done.

UWI has also confirmed that the students will be housed at the various halls of residence located at the campuses.

The UWI initiatives are being coordinated by the Office of the Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies, Professor E Nigel Harris.

Prime Minister of TT, Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced on Thursday that the Haitian students will be attending the UWI for the new semester in September as part of this country’s contribution to Haiti’s “capacity building”.

Persad-Bissessar made the announcement when she met with Caricom special representative to Haiti PJ Patterson at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair.