By Prior Beharry
SHANE Mohammed says it was internal politics at The University of the West Indies in St Augustine (UWI) that forced him to pursue his PhD at a university considered a degree mill.
He made the revelation to AZP News on Friday after questions were raised about his claims to be an analyst and have a doctorate when he appeared on television panels during Local Government Elections.
Mohammed said he now has a PhD from the Atlantic International University (AIU).
He said, “I was subjected to a lot of the internal politics of UWI and the internal politics of UWI is sometimes worse than the politics of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Mohammed said since August 5, last year, he wrote to UWI for re-entry to complete his PhD in Government.
He said, “And one year after, I am still waiting on UWI to give me the green light to finish that degree.”
Mohammed said he was not pursuing two PhDs at UWI and AIU simultaneously.
He said he allowed his registration at UWI to lapse and went through rigorous matriculation at AIU that included five research papers to qualify to be in the doctorate programme.
In a letter dated June 14, 2023, sent to Chief Executive Officer of One Caribbean Media Dawn Thomas, United National Congress (UNC) Public Relations Officer Dr Kirk Meighoo also complained about Mohammed’s qualifications. OCM is the parent company of CCN TV6.
Dr Meighoo said, “Quite importantly, Mohammed boasts of having a doctorate in political science, but his credentials do not appear legitimate.
“His PhD was awarded by Atlantic International University (AIU), an unaccredited private for-profit distance learning university based in Honolulu, Hawaii (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_International_University).
“Although it is based in the United States, AIU is not accredited by a recognised United States accreditation agency. In fact, AIU has been prosecuted by the Office of Consumer Protection of the State of Hawaii for fraudulently claiming to be an accredited institution.”
Mohammed admitted to AIU not being accredited and that it was described on Wikipedia as a “degree mill.”
He said accreditation of a university in the US was optional and that AIU was accredited with the UK Home Office.
Mohammed said, “When a university seeks accreditation from the US at the Federal level it prevents them from being able to do online teaching and distance teaching in that my university is able to do it.
“Accreditation is not mandatory in the US for universities.
“However, it is how universities tend to make a lot of their money because when they take accreditation from the Federal Government, you are required to be on US soil.
“You have to go there and of course, you have to spend your money on room and board and all that.
“The difference with this university (AIU), it was designed very specifically for a very pedagogical approach and that is a non-traditional approach to teaching and learning.
“This is exactly what happened during Covid-19.
“This university as most universities that allow for online learning and distance learning in the United Kingdom does not require their students to come to the United Kingdom and be on UK soil.”
Mohammed said the difference with AIU was that “if you pick up the phone and you call Atlantic University you would get somebody on the other side answering the phone and you would also get to be able to see who the academic dean is, who the academic admissions dean is…”
