Student loses lawsuit against Costaatt

A COSTAATT student who was unable to sit the 2018 radiography external review examination has lost his lawsuit against the institution.

Jamieyel Pantor, of Princes Town, had taken the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), to court, complaining of a decision which prevented him from taking the clinical practicum V (external review examination) which was held from July 5-23.

Pantor is pursuing a BSc in radiography and was expecting to sit the July exams.

This morning Justice Frank Seepersad dismissed Pantor’s application with no order for costs.

Seepersad said he considered the evidence of COSTAATT’s president Dr Gillian Paul, who said there was a need for a comprehensive review of courses based on poor academic performance in the disciplines of nursing, allied health service, and radiotherapy.

He also said the directives given by the institution was primarily based on matters of academic judgment.

“A civil court, exercising a public law function, is not equipped to deal with matters of academic judgment nor can this court articulate the way in which education is best advanced.

“The arguments advanced by the applicant are not clothed with the requisite degree of arguabilty and do not have a realistic prospect of success. The applicant cannot determine the manner in which he should be assessed by the institution and the claims advanced are devoid of merit .”

Pantor, in his lawsuit, said he was prevented from sitting the exams after he received an email from the head of the Health Science Technologies Department, in June, telling him he was not going to be permitted to sit the external review examination because he was unsuccessful at the radiation sciences (RADT 222) component of the course. Pantor, who is represented by attorneys Reynold Waldrop and Tim Charriandy, said the decision was unfair since it was not a prerequisite for a student be successful in RADT 222 before being permitted to sit the clinical practicum examinations.

He said he had already passed two clinical assessments and the prerequisite examination for the practicum.

He said the decision preventing him from taking the examination has adversely affected him and will delay his completion of the course which will impact on him seeking employment.