UWI Five Islands Law Programme Attracts More Than 100 Applicants

More than 100 people applied to enter the new law programme at the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus, but only 65 are expected to be admitted because of space limitations.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne disclosed the figures Saturday on the Browne and Browne Show while discussing the government’s decision to provide full scholarships for two police officers to study law.

“My understanding is we have 65 persons enrolled,” Browne said. “Well, there are more, but obviously they could not take all of them. We had 100-plus.”

The programme forms part of efforts to expand legal education in Antigua and Barbuda while strengthening the country’s criminal justice system.

The government intends to provide scholarships to two police officers, with the aim of having them eventually join the prosecution team in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Browne said the university is searching for a large conference facility to accommodate the law students because the Five Islands Campus does not currently have sufficient space.

He revealed that the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party headquarters, known as People’s Place, is among the locations being considered.

The prime minister said the party would make the space available for “little or nothing” and would not seek a commercial return from the university.

He also sought to distance the possible arrangement from partisan politics, saying the building is being considered solely because of the university’s need for a large and centrally located teaching space.

“I just want to put in a disclaimer that I don’t consider it to be anything political,” Browne said. “The UWI doesn’t have the space, and they need a big enough conference facility.”

Browne said he was unaware of many other suitable facilities, noting that spaces at the American University of Antigua, Sandals Grande Antigua and the John E. St. Luce Finance and Conference Centre may either be unavailable, too small or costly.

Other members of the programme said People’s Place would also be more centrally located and easier for students to access than the Five Islands Campus.

The new law programme is expected to expand access to legal education locally and reduce the need for Antiguans and Barbudans to travel overseas to begin their legal studies.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: VIDEO: People’s Place Considered as Teaching Venue for UWI Law Students.