WILLEMSTAD — With reference to the urgent request from St. Martinus University (SMU) to confirm that the training is operational, Education-minister Omayra Leeflang (PAR) forwarded a confirmation fax to Faimer. SMU hopes that this will be sufficient for the American registry organization to obtain a normal IMED-listing.
"We must wait for Faimer’s reaction", says lawyer Arend de Winter who threatened with summary proceedings on behalf of the university. On August 10th, the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (Faimer) had requested clarity from the Minister regarding the termination of the colleges. Later on, students had instituted summary proceedings in which they demanded and received confirmation from SMU on their study results. John Daryanani succeeded in starting up the university again, but the Minister had not responded to Faimer’s questions. Until now, Faimer announces on the International Medical Education Directory (IMED) that SMU is closed.
The letter, which the Minister faxed to Faimer, is dated September 16th. This morning, SMU received the message from Faimer that they had received a fax from Minister Leeflang yesterday, which was dated five days ago. The contents are positive for SMU; it only mentions operational problems, but it does state that the university is operational.
The Minister emphasizes once again that SMU operates within the legal freedom of education in the Antilles, but that this does not imply an acknowledgement of accreditation by the government. SMU’s lawyer, De Winter does not believe that the issue of the acknowledgement remaining forthcoming (see framework) will be a problem even though the Caribbean Medical University (CMU) in the WTC has a different opinion. "It is a known fact that the government does not acknowledge such diplomas. The validity of the charter (ministerial confirmation of establishment in the country) is not under discussion."
Moreover, De Winter points out that Faimer does exactly the same. The organization distinctly states that IMED-listing does not mention anything about quality nor can it be considered as a form of acknowledgement or accreditation. However, IMED-listing is a condition to qualify for participation with exams and acknowledgement of diplomas. De Winter "this may seem vague to us, but this is not the case in America".
After a lengthy media silence, executive John Daryanani now speaks highly of ‘his’ SMU. "Nearly sixty students have registered. The results are higher than the average university in the Antilles." It is obvious to Daryanani that the near downfall of the university is due to "international marketing and the possibility to provide for study loans". Both matters have a financial basis. "We have an investor, although I do not consider it correct to elaborate on such before all has been arranged internally."
Meanwhile, the colleges have started again and nearly all teachers – who had refused all cooperation last month, as they had not received their salaries for months – have chosen to stay with the university.
‘Minister trifles with fate of 10,000 people’
It seems as if Minister Omayra Leeflang does not know the difference between acknowledgement and accreditation. "In this, she trifles with the fate of 10,000 students", says director-owner Radek Lewkowski of the Caribbean Medical University. "All medical schools are worthless without acknowledgement. Thousands of students are registered with the six universities of the Antilles. The degree of a graduate is also worthless with acknowledgement. This will become a huge case. The students and schools will sue the Minister."
CMU is of the opinion that it also has the right to operate with an IMED-registration, just like the five medical universities. Until now, the Minister of Education and Public Health is not cooperating with the aforementioned.
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