Reps from medical institute call on VP |20 May 2005

Dr Fauzia Alkhairy, the president and founder of USAIM, and a delegation from the institute met with the vice-president and also the principal secretary for the Department of Public Administration, Mohammed Afif, at State House on Thursday morning.

Vice-President Belmont said he supported the school and the benefits it provided to Seychelles, and noted that government was in its own process of reinvigorating the Ministry of Health.

USAIM, in its fourth year in Seychelles, offers both undergraduate and post-graduate programmes in medicine. Most of its student body, which now stands at about 100, is comprised of Indian nationals, but there are also students from the United States, South Africa and the Middle East, as well as two from Seychelles.

The institute is based locally at Anse Royale but is headquartered in the state of Indiana in the U.S. Students follow theory courses in Seychelles but then go onto practical approaches in India in most cases, but also in the U.S. and elsewhere.

According to Dr Alkhairy, Seychelles represented an ideal situation to set up a medical school. While the Caribbean is “flooded with similar schools,” the region and Seychelles lacked one with an American curriculum, she said.

She also indicated that parents felt good about the country’s political stability, crime rate and that there are “no distractions” for students in their studies.

Dr Alkhairy and Vice-President Belmont both indicated that they would like to see more Seychellois students sign up with the school. The school has two scholarship seats – based on financial need – offering free tuition for Seychellois.

While she said the institute was re-evaluating its tuition costs, the previous rate was US $5,000 per semester for five semesters. Seychellois students may pay in rupees, however. The school requires three ‘A’ levels in sciences as its admission criteria.

Discussions at the meeting also focused on the institute’s current facilities.

“We need a bigger place,” Dr Alkhairy told Nation, not only to accommodate a quickly expanding student body but also to introduce other programmes outside of medicine, such as dentistry and nursing.

USAIM is also hoping to conduct a number of health studies in addition to its role as an educational institute, and some have already gone ahead in collaboration with some ministries.

Delegates from the school spoke of studies on health issues particularly relevant to Seychelles, such as cardiovascular problems, alcoholism and diabetes. A World Health Organisation study on air pollution is also on tap.