~ To start in early September ~
PHILIPSBURG–The dream of former Finance Minister Richard Gibson for St. Maarten to mould its own home-grown lawyers will become a reality with the starting of the law programme at University of St. Martin (USM) in collaboration with University of Curaçao, next month.
The Council of Ministers has given the green light for the programme to start, and Education Minister Wycliffe Smith and representatives of the two universities launched the programme at a joint press conference held at USM on Thursday.
The establishment of a law programme at USM is the brainchild of Gibson, who put much work into making it a reality before demitting office.
The law programme is expected to start at the beginning of September. It was originally scheduled to start in September last year, but due to the widespread destruction in the country after Hurricane Irma, the introduction was pushed back. Some 25 students have completed full registration and an additional 10 have expressed interest in the programme. A registration drive for the programme will be held in the coming days to attract more students who are interested.
The same accredited law programme offered at University of Curaçao will be offered to students in St. Maarten at USM. The classes will be a form of “blended learning” whereby students in St. Maarten will receive classes in several forms. Classes will be streamed live from Curaçao to students at USM in St. Maarten, some classes will be recorded and sent to students, and in some cases professors will travel to St. Maarten to give classes in person and to work with students for assignments, amongst other things.
The duration of the law programme is four to five years and it will cost US $3,000 per year for each student.
Smith said qualifying students who apply will be granted study financing for the programme. Law is currently on the study financing priority list as one of the studies that students are urged to pursue. He said the law programme will be an opportunity for St. Maarten to have its own home-grown lawyers.
USM President Antonio Carmona Báez told reporters the St. Maarten Government had taken a significant step in magnifying the place of education, higher education in particular, by endorsing the long-awaited tripartite agreement that allows for the establishment of the law programme in St. Maarten, carried out by University of Curaçao and hosted at USM.
“The strong government of St. Maarten has demonstrated its commitment to the country by recognising that sustainable development and even recovery is not possible without an institution of higher education where knowledge can be deposited and from where knowledge can be disseminated at the service of the people of St. Maarten,” he said.
The establishment of a law programme at USM in partnership with University of Curaçao puts St. Maarten “on a glorious path. We have already reached a point of no return, and our government has unleashed the forces of good will and yearning for good governance by the possibility of shaping St. Maarten’s homebred legal personnel.”
He said the University of Curaçao law programme at USM will elevate USM to scientific status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
“By virtue of our relationship with the University of Curaçao, which is an accredited institution, we are now endowed by law to enter into agreement with other institutions of scientific research. This means development not only for USM, but for the entire country, as it allows us to entertain hosting other areas where scientific research is deemed necessary.
“Today it is law, tomorrow it will be psychology and social work, biology, agroecology, linguistics, and environmental sciences. Step-by-step we are going to create a St. Maarten where travelling abroad for higher education is an enhancement to our body of knowledge and a choice, and no longer an obligation,” the USM President said.
Accompanying the law programme will be a 1½-year pre-law programme that will prepare those who are interested in pursuing a Bachelor of Arts and/or Master of Arts degree in law with the required skills necessary to complete a university-level education.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/79879-govt-gives-green-light-for-law-programme-at-usm
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