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In 1898, an Agricultural College was established
in Barbados to train British citizens to work in
agriculture in the colonial service in various
parts of the tropical world.
In 1921, it was transferred to Trinidad as the
Agricultural College of the West Indies. In 1923,
the institution was renamed The Imperial College of
Tropical Agriculture (ICTA) and students were
accepted from Trinidad and Tobago and the wider
Caribbean area. Lectures in Animal Health formed
part of the teaching programme.
In 1948, a College of the University of London,
The University College of the West Indies (UCWI)
was established in Jamaica to serve the entire
English-speaking Caribbean. In 1960, the existing
ICTA. was co-opted as the Agriculture Faculty of
the University College of the West Indies.
The UCWI received its charter in 1962 and became
the University of the West Indies (UWI). The
Faculty of Agriculture (UWI) continued to teach
aspects of basic animal health, as part of the
livestock programme, to the students of
agriculture.
The establishment of the School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) was a continuation of a trend, which started, with that of the first ever veterinary school in Lyons, France in February 1762.
The London Veterinary College (now the Royal Veterinary College) was established in 1791. One hundred and three years later - in 1894 - the first veterinarian to work in Trinidad and Tobago arrived from London. Many others followed him.
These early pioneers were attached to a government animal production farm at St. Joseph, where they would have imparted basic veterinary knowledge to the Agricultural Officers and other staff members. It, however, marked the beginning of instruction in animal health in Trinidad and Tobago and perhaps the British West Indies.
As time went by, nationals of the British Caribbean were going abroad to various countries to study veterinary medicine and returning to work in the Caribbean.
In 1976, the Council of the UWI agreed that a
second centre for the teaching of Medicine be
established, and that it be located in
Trinidad.
In 1984, the Faculty of Medical Sciences was
enlarged to include Schools of Medicine, Dentistry,
Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy and Advanced Nursing
Education.
When teaching commenced in October 1989 at Mount
Hope to a class of ten students, Professor Vincent
St. Omer, a native of the Caribbean island of St.
Lucia, was the school's Director.
October 1989 therefore marks the commencement of
a full Veterinary Programme at the University
level, in the English-speaking Caribbean.
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