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{{Short description|Unaccredited medical school (defunct)}}
<noinclude>{{Infobox university
| name = Washington University of Barbados
| image = Washington University Of Barbados.png
| image_upright = .7
| motto = We Listen - We Invent - We Deliver
| established = 2016
| closed = 2018
| founder = Gopi Venkata Rao, CEO
| accreditation = [[Unaccredited_institutions_of_higher_education|Unaccredited]]
| type = [[Proprietary education|For-profit]] [[medical school]]
| president =
| director = Deoraj Dalchand
| students = 200+
| city = [[Saint Philip, Barbados|St. Philip]]
| country = [[Barbados]]
| coordinates = {{coord|13.09430|-59.47421|type:edu|display=inline,title}}
| language = English
| website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20171028191746/http://www.wubmed.org/ wubmed.org (archived)]
| logo =
| alumni =
| address = Casa Grande Hotel, Hibiscus Block, Oldbury
}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}

The '''Washington University of Barbados''' (WUB) is a defunct medical school which opened in 2017 and closed in 2018.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Greaves |first=Tre |date=October 28, 2018 |title=Wednesday deadline |work=Nation News |url=https://www.nationnews.com/2018/10/28/wednesday-deadline/ |access-date=2022-09-11}}</ref> The for-profit university received a charter from the [[Government of Barbados|Barbados Ministry of Education]] in 2016, but was [[Unaccredited institutions of higher education|unaccredited]].<ref name=":15">{{Cite news |date=October 13, 2018 |title=UWI Head Describes Scandal at Medical School in Barbados as Embarrassing |work=Virgin Islands News Online |url=https://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/domains/virginislandsnewsonline.com/en/news/uwi-head-describes-scandal-at-medical-school-in-barbados-as-embarrassing- |access-date=2022-09-16}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=King |first=Katrina |date=October 8, 2018 |title='Fraud U.' |work=Cayman iNews |url=https://www.ieyenews.com/barbados-fraud-u/ |access-date=2022-09-11}}</ref> Allegedly part of an international scam in which 200 students from India were conned out of ₹25 [[crore]], the CEO and director of the school were arrested by the [[Barbados Police Service|Royal Barbados Police]] and charged with fraud in 2018.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":16">{{Cite news |last=Carter |first=Gercine |date=February 22, 2019 |title=Indian Students 'Protected' |work=NationNews |url=https://www.nationnews.com/2019/02/22/indian-students-protected-indian-students-protected/ |access-date=2022-09-16}}</ref>

== Background ==
In May 2016, ''[[The Barbados Advocate]]'' reported that WUB was "in the very early stages of making inquiries to be established in Barbados".<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=May 16, 2016 |title=Medical Schools Scoping Barbados |work=[[The Barbados Advocate]] |url=https://www.barbadosadvocate.com/news/medical-schools-scoping-barbados |access-date=2022-09-11}}</ref> Senator Harcourt Husbands mentioned the school while debating a bill to establish a Caribbean Accreditation Authority for education in medicine and other health professions.<ref name=":1" /> At the time, the [[American University of Barbados]] and the Faculty of Medicine at the [[University of the West Indies at Cave Hill]] were already operating medical schools in [[Barbados]].<ref name=":1" />

According to its website, WUB was established in 2016, but was also "a renowned healthcare institution that has offered Medical Degrees for over a decade."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.wubmed.org/about-washington-university-barbados.php |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=Washington University of Barbados}}</ref> WUB claimed that it was "devoted to preparing and educating students from across the globe to become professional doctors", and that it was exceptional in "[implementing] the elements for USMLE ([[United States Medical Licensing Examination]]) within its curriculum."<ref name=":2" />

In February 2017, the ''NationNews'' reported that WUB was "preparing to welcome its first batch of students" after postponing its opening by one year.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Maria |date=February 19, 2017 |title=Medical school to open soon |work=NationNews |url=https://www.nationnews.com/2017/02/19/medical-school-to-open-soon/ |access-date=2022-09-14}}</ref> The article noted that the campus would be based at the Casa Grande Hotel at Oldbury in [[Saint Philip, Barbados|Saint Philip]], and quoted WUB director Deoraj Dalchand as saying that the school was in the process of finalising negotiations with the hotel.<ref name=":4" /> Casa Grande had previously been under fire when Nigerian students attending [[Barbados Community College]] complained of lack of running water and air conditioning.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Maria |date=January 8, 2015 |title=Nigerian students speak out |work=Barbados Today |url=https://www.nationnews.com/2015/01/08/nigerian-students-speak-out/ |access-date=2022-09-14}}</ref>

== Student, faculty, and staff concerns ==
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}</mapframe>The first students were admitted to WUB in April 2017.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Gilkes |first=Ryan |date=August 4, 2017 |title=Bad medicine |work=Barbados Today |url=https://barbadostoday.bb/2017/08/04/bad-medicine/amp/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213074531/https://barbadostoday.bb/2017/08/04/bad-medicine/amp/ |archive-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> By August 4, 2017, ''Barbados Today'' reported that "15 of the 80 foreign students have indicated a desire to leave," citing a letter circulated to the media by a source claiming to represent the student body.<ref name=":3" /> The letter explained that the students, who were mainly from [[India]], felt that they had been made "false promises" before embarking on their journey to Barbados.<ref name=":3" /> Upon arrival, they found "inadequate classroom furniture and equipment, a lack of air-conditioning, improper ventilation, poor quality food, a lack of study materials and, unlike traditional universities, no proper campus", and felt that they had been "mistreated" and "harassed".<ref name=":3" />

In addition, a video surfaced of WUB Dean Dr. Ram Prasad Upreti addressing students and complaining about the lack of books in the library, the lack of drinking water, and what he characterised as prison-like living conditions for the students.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Maria |date=August 27, 2017 |title=Medical schools in war of words |work=NationNews |url=https://www.nationnews.com/2017/08/27/medical-schools-in-war-of-words/ |access-date=2022-09-14}}</ref> Questioning the very legitimacy of the medical school, he suggested that WUB could lose all its teaching staff because both the faculty and staff had not been paid.<ref name=":3" />

Dalchand told ''Barbados Today'' that the students' grievances were being addressed, claiming that the first batch of students had originally been headed for a school in [[Guyana]], but had been redirected at the last minute to Barbados due to delays by the Indian medical board in providing the required documents.<ref name=":3" /> Three weeks later, Upreti was referred to in the press as a "former dean" of the school, as CEO Gopi Venkat of WUB accused its rival, the six-year-old American University of Barbados, of a smear campaign against WUB.<ref name=":5" /> One year later, on August 15, 2018, the Casa Grande Hotel held a first anniversary celebration for WUB, promoting the school as an example of how "health tourism" could benefit Barbados by bringing foreign exchange into the country.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Brancker |first=Nadia |date=August 15, 2018 |title=Medical Schools a Good Move |work=[[The Barbados Advocate]] |url=https://www.barbadosadvocate.com/news/medical-schools-good-move |access-date=2022-09-14}}</ref> Mrs. Asha Ram Mirchandani, the owner of Case Grande Airport Hotel & Resort, told ''The Barbados Advocate'' that WUB intended to bring 500 more students into Barbados.<ref name=":6" />

Meanwhile, WUB remained unaccredited by the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP), the [[United States Department of Education]]'s National Committee on Foreign Medical Education Accreditation (NCFMEA), or any other body empowered to certify medical schools in the region.<ref>{{cite web |last=King |first=Katrina |date=October 6, 2018 |title=Fraud U |url=https://barbadostoday.bb/2018/10/06/fraud-u/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226113635/https://barbadostoday.bb/2018/10/06/fraud-u/ |archive-date=2019-12-26 |accessdate=2018-10-08 |website=Barbados Today}}</ref>

== Arrests ==
Students and staff at WUB first became aware that CEO Gopi Venkata Rao was wanted in India for fraud on September 30, 2018.<ref name=":8" /> On September 29, ''[[The Hindu]]'' newspaper in India reported that police had raided an educational consultancy firm in [[Bangalore]] suspected of having conned over 200 students out of a total of ₹25 [[crore]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |date=September 29, 2018 |title=Bengaluru – Consultancy raided for seat scam |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/consultancy-raided-for-seat-scam/article25084147.ece |access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref> The police alleged that the owner of the consultancy, Gopi Venkata Rao, and his staff had targeted students taking the [[Common Entrance Test]], promising them seats at medical schools in various countries including the United States, Canada, Guyana, and China,<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Bellie |date=September 30, 2018 |title=Medical admissions: firm cheats students of Rs 25 crore |work=[[The Deccan Herald]] |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/city/promising-foreign-varsity-695347.html |access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref> and charging between ₹30 [[lakh]] and ₹40 lakh each.<ref name=":7" /> Six people were arrested in India and charged with cheating and forgery, but Venkata Rao, his wife Nikhila, and an associate were said to have escaped.<ref name=":7" /> Back in Barbados, a group of students from WUB took their grievances to the Ministry of Education, which began investigation into their living conditions at the school.<ref name=":11">{{Cite news |last=Brathwaite |first=Sheria |date=October 5, 2018 |title=CEO taken away by police |work=Nation News |url=https://www.nationnews.com/2018/10/05/ceo-taken-away-by-police/ |access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref>

Following an international manhunt, Venkata Rao was arrested on campus and taken into custody by the [[Barbados Police Service|Royal Barbados Police Force]] on Friday, October 5, 2018.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":9">{{Cite news |date=October 6, 2018 |title=International hunt for Indian CEO in university fraud ends in Barbados |work=Loop News |url=https://stlucia.loopnews.com/content/international-hunt-indian-ceo-university-fraud-ends-barbados-2 |access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last=Greaves |first=Natalie |date=October 7, 2018 |title=Barbados police detain head of offshore University |work=Caribbean National Weekly |url=https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/caribbean-breaking-news-featured/barbados-police-detain-head-of-offshore-university/ |access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref> His executive secretary, Tricia Newton, told the media that 40 staff members had not been paid for more than three months, and that both students and staff had no access to food on campus.<ref name=":8" /> She also disclosed that the school had refused to renew work permits for Indian staff members, and routinely replaced them when their permits expired.<ref name=":8" />

Soon after the arrest, a group of approximately 200 students gathered for a meeting with Barbados government officials, led by Cynthia Forde, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, and representatives of the ministries of labor, health, education, and welfare.<ref name=":10" /> Frustrated and confused, the students complained that they had had no access to food, electricity, or water, because the school had neglected to pay their utility bills for five months.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":11" /> While some students said they wanted to return home to India, ministry officials suggested that they might be able to transfer to other medical schools in Barbados.<ref name=":8" />

On October 8, 2018, Gopi Venkata Rao, age 42, was charged with four counts of evading liability, including three dishonoured cheques totalling BDS $210,000 made out to Casa Grande, Inc., and another in the amount of BDS $30,000 owed to Furniture Ltd. T/S Builders Value Mart.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 8, 2018 |title=University CEO charged |work=NationNews |url=https://www.nationnews.com/2018/10/08/university-ceo-charged/ |access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref> Although police initially reported that WUB Director Deoraj Dalchand, age 32, was assisting them with their investigations,<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 11, 2018 |title=Director of Washington University of Barbados helping police |work=Loop News |url=https://barbados.loopnews.com/content/director-washington-university-barbados-helping-police |access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref> by October 16, the reported that Dalchand had been remanded to prison at HMP Dodds, along with Venkata Rao.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news |date=October 16, 2018 |title=Washington University of Barbados Director, CEO remanded for fraud |work=Loop News |url=https://barbados.loopnews.com/content/washington-university-barbados-director-ceo-remanded-fraud |access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref> Both men were scheduled to reappear in court on November 12, 2018.<ref name=":12" /> It later emerged that Venkata Rao allegedly owed nearly BDS $3,000,000 for use of the Casa Grande Hotel facility.<ref name=":0" />

== Aftermath ==

=== Indian students and staff ===
On October 14, 2018, Prime Minister [[Mia Mottley]] stated in her address to the nation that WUB students would be taken care of and provided with shelter, food, and basic necessities until they were transferred to other schools or returned home to their countries, depending on their individual preferences.<ref name=":13">{{Cite news |last=Gooding |first=Kerri |date=October 17, 2018 |title=PM says Barbados will 'pay' for students caught in university fraud' |work=Loop News |url=https://stlucia.loopnews.com/content/mia-cares-about-washington-university-barbados-students-2 |access-date=2022-09-15}}</ref> As of October 28, 2018, ''Nation News'' reported that there were still 35 to 40 students left at the Casa Grande Hotel, including some who were waiting for refunds, despite the lack of electricity or running water.<ref name=":0" /> By then, most of the staff and students had left for India, Guyana, [[Saint Lucia]], and Europe.<ref name=":0" /> Only a few Indian students remained in Barbados and transferred to American University of Barbados School of Medicine.<ref name=":16" /> In February 2019, the new Indian High Commissioner Mahendra Singh Kanyal met with members of the Sindhi Association of Barbados, including two former students from WUB, and assured them that Indian government would not tolerate fraudulent activities by Indian offshore institutions and would do more to protect Indian students from mistreatment in the future.<ref name=":16" />
=== Indian school officials ===
On November 13, 2018, Gopi Venkata Rao and Deoraj Dalchand were granted BDS $200,000 bail, on the condition they surrender their passports.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news |date=November 13, 2018 |title=BARBADOS–CRIME–University officials granted bail |work=CANA News |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A562136660/STND |access-date=2022-09-16 |via=[[Gale OneFile]]}}</ref> They were scheduled to return to court on January 24, 2019, to answer various fraud-related charges, including dishonestly inducing Casa Grande to wait for payout of BDS $2,863,080.<ref name=":14" />

=== Barbados politics, education, and business ===
In her address to the nation, Prime Minister Mottley said the WUB incident was one of many "things" the [[Barbados Labour Party|Barbados Labour Party (BLP)]] had been confronted with since being elected into office on May 25, 2018.<ref name=":13" />

An article in ''Barbados Today'' pointed out that WUB had been "one of the earliest and brightest jewels" of the [[Freundel Stuart]] administration's efforts to establish Barbados as a "hub for medical education", before the [[Democratic Labour Party (Barbados)|Democratic Labour Party]] was defeated in the 2018 elections.<ref name=":8" /> A former consultant to WUB claimed that before leaving India, all WUB staff had been shown a video featuring the previous Barbados prime minister, Freundel Stuart, and Minister of Health John Boyce, guaranteeing that WUB met all the necessary health requirements.<ref name=":8" /> According to consultant Subash Agarwal, one month after the Barbados general elections, the former Minister of Education Ronald Jones had visited campus and promised staff and students that accreditation by the Barbados Accreditation Council was imminent.<ref name=":8" />

[[University of the West Indies|University of West Indies]] Vice Chancellor Sir [[Hilary Beckles]] expressed his sympathy for the students, and described the WUB scandal as an embarrassment to higher education.<ref name=":15" /> Calling for stricter checks and balances for all educational institutions and rigorous vetting of foreign teaching staff in the Caribbean, Beckles distanced public universities such as UWI from for-profit universities such as WUB.<ref name=":15" /> Similarly, Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) President Julia Hope told ''Loop News'' that the scandal underscored the importance of conducting careful [[due diligence]] before doing business with new entrants to Barbados.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gooding |first=Kerri |date=October 11, 2018 |title=Washington Uni of Barbados saga a red flag for Int’l Business sector |work=Loop News |url=https://barbados.loopnews.com/content/washington-uni-barbados-saga-red-flag-intl-business-sector |access-date=2022-09-16}}</ref>

In January 2019, when the [[Ross University School of Medicine]] relocated from [[Dominica]] to Barbados, Education Minister Santia Bradshaw reassured Barbadian citizens that unlike WUB, it was a legitimate, accredited institution, and that the BLP-led government had done its due diligence on the school.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gooding |first=Kerri |date=January 5, 2019 |title=Minister assures Barbadians: Ross University is accredited |work=Loop News |url=https://barbados.loopnews.com/content/minister-assures-barbadians-ross-university-accredited |access-date=2022-09-16}}</ref>

==See also==

*[[List of unaccredited institutions of higher education]]
*[[List of medical schools in the Caribbean]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20171028191746/http://www.wubmed.org/|name=Official website (archived in October 2017)}}

{{Universities and colleges in Barbados}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Universities and colleges in Barbados]]
[[Category:Medical schools in the Caribbean]]
[[Category:Unaccredited institutions of higher learning]]

Washington University of Barbados - Revision history

Stoutsanitaryware: Adding a post