Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC and several Government Ministers visited the UWI South Campus – Penal/Debe on Monday afternoon to inspect repairs ahead of its reopening.
Among those present was Minister of Tertiary Education and Skills Training, Professor Prakash Persad, who has been spearheading efforts to reopen the institute.
Speaking to TTT News following the campus tour, the Prime Minister said she was impressed.
“It is just very painful to know that it stood idle for almost ten years. A lot of work to be done, but you can still see the beauty of it. I feel like I could be a student here all over again. It is a beautiful place, it is breezy, the ambience, you look around, it is a wonderful place for anyone to come as a student to be studying at university. So I am very pleased with what I have seen, in spite of deterioration in several areas, but it can be repaired and be brought back fully on board.”
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar paid tribute to former Minister of Tertiary Education, the late Fazal Karim, who brought the initial vision to life during his term in office.
“I just hope what happened the last time when we came and we did the topping-up ceremony in 2015, just before the elections, that we finish this and get the students on board before any other changes take place in the country. That is my dream right now, that is my goal, that is my vision, that is my mission, to get this campus up and running. Get it up and running and be populated with students and be populated with students and academics here. They will do very well.”
Rehabilitation works on the UWI South Campus began last July.
At a Post Cabinet Media Briefing in March, Minister of Land and Legal Affairs, Saddam Hosein, said the Government will assume full responsibility for all repairs, with rehabilitation work carried out by the Palo Seco Agricultural Enterprises Limited (PSAEL).
The Minister added that the aim is for classes at the Campus to begin at the start of the new academic year in September 2026.