UG rolls out all-region pre-med programme

Last Updated on Monday, 30 March 2026, 23:48 by Writer

The University of Guyana (UG) on Monday said its new Regional Pre-Medical Programme is scheduled to commence across all ten administrative regions during the first week of April 2026.

The ambitious expansion follows the successful implementation of two of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FET) programmes, which have already begun delivery in three regions to increase local technical capacity in electrical engineering and civil engineering, as well as the new infrastructure and construction programmes first being rolled out in Berbice at UG’s Tain Campus early next month.

UG says these initiatives are central to the University’s “One Graduate per Household” aspirational goal embedded in the university’s Blueprint 2040, noting that they align with President Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s mandate to ensure quality university education is accessible to regional students.

As Guyana moves forward with the construction of 14 new hospitals, the university is proactively supporting the rapid, but robust development of a local medical workforce.

In addition to the pre-medical launch, the university is actively working to address the needs of Guyanese medical students returning from Cuba.

A team from the College of Medical Sciences, led by Dean Prof. Ranjini Kurup and assistant deans Drs. Andrew Hutson and Jamain Hatton, is currently spearheading efforts to design a potential pathway that could support the continuation of the students’ medical education locally should it be required.

This process is being handled with high priority but remains conditional upon rigorous academic assessment and inter-ministerial coordination.

The university is collaborating closely with the ministries of health, education, and public service and government efficiency to address this possibility.

Vice-Chancellor Prof. Paloma Mohamed-Martin, who has been working closely with cross-University teams, has assigned Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Engagement, Prof. Emanuel Cummings, to lead key aspects of the operationalisation of these programmes.

As a former dean of the College of Medical Sciences, Prof. Cummings provides the institutional expertise necessary to ensure the regional rollout and any special programmes to maintain the College’s MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) internationally-accredited status and the university’s high standards of excellence otherwise.

UG says the rollout of these programmes is supported by a significant leap in the university’s physical and technological infrastructure, including the new medical sciences building at Turkeyen, supported by World Bank funding.

The Yesu Persaud Building for Medical Education gifted by the Yesu Persaud Foundation is located at the Georgetown Public Hospital providing modern lecture and clinical spaces supported by the Ministry of Health.

Advanced microbiology and dental labs are made possible through PACE (Philanthropy, Alumni, Civic Engagement) in the Vice-Chancellor’s office as gifts from the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI).

“The University’s goal is to ensure that the expansion of our medical faculty keeps pace with the national health vision,” said Vice Chancellor Mohamed-Martin.

“While the April launch of the Pre-Med programme across all ten regions is a definitive step in accessibility, we are also working diligently to see how we might effectively work in a collegial inter-sectoral way in the event of our medical students have to return from Cuba into a local curriculum that meets both their needs and our national standards,” the VC added.

The pre-medical programme begins in a week, and was developed in record time.

It will serve around 200 students across the country in its initial phase.