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| St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas (l) and Dr. Robert Ross of the International University of Nursing meeting with the Press during the signing ceremony in this ERASMUS WILLIAMS photo. |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS (JUNE 2ND 2004) – Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas said Wednesday there are enormous benefits for the people of St. Kitts and Nevis from the establishment of the International University of Nursing here.
Dr. Douglas told the media that the agreement which provide enormous employment opportunities and training for local students is evidence of investor confidence in the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“As we move away and out of sugar agriculture, we are developing a new sector – the services sector. Soon this is going to be a country known throughout the world for the services it provide in college/university/tertiary-level education,” said Prime Minister Douglas.
He said the establishment of the International University of Nursing “will increase the continued generation of new businesses, because the students have to buy, they have to live, they have to eat and so enormous business activity will be generated from this initiative.
Prime Minister Douglas told the media following the signing ceremony at the Royal St. Kitts Marriott Beach Resort that as local real estate is now an established sub-sector in St. Kitts and Nevis, residents will be able to provide accommodation for the scores of overseas students.
“This is going to be enhanced further because the students must have places for them to live and part of the arrangement that we have made with Dr. Ross, is that he would not become involved in providing housing for these students, but the people of the country would be involved in providing such accommodation.”
“I hope we do not reach to the point where there is a shortage of housing that we would have to ask Dr. Ross or anyone else to become involved. I have given him my full confidence that we will be able to provide housing for the students who would be trained here,” said the Prime Minister.
Dr. Douglas said his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Government has ensured that two local students will be provided with scholarships annually. The scholarships cover cost tuition, books and equipment and after consultation with government, boarding, lodging and food when the students have to travel to the United States to complete the nursing programme.
Construction of the US$10 million campus, not far from the present Ross University School of Veterinary School of Medicine, begins in July 2004 and will begin accepting the first 150 students in January 2005 offering degrees in associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees in nursing. Under the agreement, the International University of Nursing has an obligation to increase its enrollment to 1500 students.
During the ceremony, Dr. Ross presented the first installment of US$100,000 for 10 acres of land sold at a cost of US$500,000.
