US-OWNED MEDICAL SCHOOL IN ST. VINCENT TO SHUT DOWN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 001341 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CASC PREL PGOV ASEC PHUM KPAO ELAB AC XL SUBJECT: US-OWNED MEDICAL SCHOOL IN ST. VINCENT TO SHUT DOWN ¶1. (U) Summary: After months of speculation, and negotiations with the GOSVG, St. George's University (SGU),which operates the Kingstown Medical College in St. Vincent, announced that it will cease operations by January 2008. While the medical school had originally announced that it was only scaling back while it could address the housing and safety concerns of students following a string of violent crimes against medical students last Spring, the school's imminent closure has been rumored all summer. The final decision to withdraw all SGU presence in St. Vincent was made by university officials when they concluded the GOSVG was not interested in seriously addressing the security situation. In addition to the potential economic impact of the school's closure (it is arguably the largest US investment in St. Vincent proper), the incident has served as political fodder for the opposition National Democratic Party, which points to it as an example of the ruling party's inability to get a handle on crime. End Summary. Background -------------- ¶2. (U) Established 26 years ago, Kingstown Medical College has served as a base for 2nd year students of St. George's University (SGU) in Grenada. SGU had an exclusive contract with the GOSVG for the use of the campus. The original rationale of this rotation program was that St. Vincent's hospital, Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, provided clinical experience that the students were unable to receive in Grenada. Since that time, approximately 250-350 students from St. George's have moved each semester to the Kingstown Medical College to continue their studies and gain clinical experience. Roughly 60% of the students participating in the rotation are US-citizens. Whereas St. George's University has a larger amount of on-campus housing at its Grenada True Blue campus and has provided comprehensive security patrols, even for off-campus students, Kingstown Medical College has offered only 50 spaces in on-campus housing and has left the remaining students to find appropriate housing themselves. No security patrols or other security services were offered to students living off-campus. Because SVG students will no longer be doing the rotation in St. Vincent, the University will have to build three additional dormitories to accommodate the students. ¶3. (SBU) In Fall 2006, two US citizen students attending Kingstown medical college were bound and robbed in their off-campus residence. After this incident, the Medical College implemented increased security in the form of security patrols. Then, in February 2007, a US-citizen female student was sexually assaulted at her off-campus residence. Once word of these violent crimes spread among the St. George's student population, both in Grenada and in St. Vincent, many students and their families began demanding that the Kingstown Medical College take steps that would ensure their safety while completing the year abroad in St. Vincent. SGU received a number of complaints from parents and students about the requirement to go to St. Vincent. Therefore, the University decided that until a new housing/security situation could be secured, they would scale down the exchange program so that in Fall 2007, groups of 50 students would do short, two-week exchanges to the Medical College, all living in the campus housing. SGU officials attempted to negotiate with GOSVG officials for increased police patrols and other security measures for students living off-campus. The plan was that the original one-year rotations would resume in Spring 2008 if the security situation could be improved. Political Opportunism -------------- ¶4. (SBU) As rumors spread that St. George's University had decided to scale down the one-year program at the Medical College (and possibly close),the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) used the news as an example of how PM Gonsalves and the ruling United Labor Party (ULP) had failed to curb crime. The murder rate in St. Vincent and the Grenadines has indeed increased dramatically, rising from 13 murders in 2006 to 30 murders so far this year. The NDP made even wilder claims, at ONE point blaming the school's closure on PM Gonsalves' increasingly close ties to Cuba and Venezuela. One newspaper columnist suggested in April that the United States State Department had ordered the Medical College to BRIDGETOWN 00001341 002 OF 002 close in retaliation for Gonsalves forging close ties to those two nations. Partly in response to the political pressure, Prime Minister Gonsalves and acting Commissioner of Police Bertie Pompey met with College officials in early April to discuss improving security for students living off-campus, agreeing to set up a Mobile Police Unit near the Medical College. Official Word -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In April 2007, St. George's University announced that it had signed an agreement with Grenada's Ministry of Health for students to complete clinical rotations at Grenada's General Hospital, a long-term goal of both the University and the Government of Grenada. The agreement effectively undercut the argument that Kingstown Medical College was still necessary in order to provide St. George's students with practical hospital experience. School officials then met in Grenada in early September to decide the fate of the College. On September 17, 2007, Dr. Ed Johnson, Dean of the College and ONE of the Embassy's Consular Wardens, announced to the faculty and staff that the school would indeed close by December 15th. According to SGU's Provost, Dr. Allan Pensick (a consular warden for Embassy Grenada),University officials needed to make decisions about second semester classes and professorial assignments as the two campuses shared faculty as well as students. The fractured schedules meant that professors were teaching the same courses more than once a semester in order to meet accreditation requirements. According to Pensick, without a clear commitment from the GOSVG on security, the University concluded that it risked losing American students if it did not eliminate the rotation in St. Vincent. ¶6. (U) The College began laying off local employees in September, and are expected to make more lay-offs after the last group of students leaves St. Vincent in early November. While the College still maintains that they are open to further discussions with the GOSVG to somehow re-open or re-invent the College, once the campus is closed. SGU officials admit privately that it is unlikely to re-open under their aegis, as SGU has had to invest heavily to provide housing for the extra 350 students it must accommodate on the Grenada campus, in addition to finding office and teaching space for the returning professors. The SVG campus facilities themselves are owned by the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and have been leased by St. George's University on an exclusive contract for their use. In the event that an agreement cannot be reached with SGU,the GOSVG may seek to attract other investors to found a new university. ¶7. (SBU) SGU officials regret losing the Kingstown Medical College campus after so many years of productive cooperation, but say that the GOSVG dismissed their concerns about security and belittled the economic contribution of the students, professors, staff, and their families to the country. They believe they had no choice but to close down the operation in St. Vincent to ensure the safety and security of all of their students. Comment -------------- ¶8. (U) The Kingstown Medical College has been the largest locus of an American presence on St. Vincent and its closure means that fewer Americans will be living on the island. More importantly, it has become a symbol of the escalating crime situation in St. Vincent. The school's departure will also have real economic impact, as it will mean the laying-off of 80 local workers. The living and other expenses from the roughly 700 students who came to St. Vincent each year will also be sorely missed by local landlords and retailers. The Medical College has also been running a free medical clinic in Calliaqua, St. Vincent, staffing it with permanent and visiting professors. While the NDP's wild claims are somewhat amusing, they seem to reflect the real concerns of ordinary Vincentians who see crime and a resultant lack of investment as hindering the country's growth. End Comment. OURISMAN