UWI Guild calls for better counselling services

"Many of the students are not aware of the different counselling services, when they are under a stressful situation," she told Newsday. According to sources, Cummings a 17-year-old scholarship winner from Belize, failed exams recently and jumped from the fifth floor of the Natural Sciences Building on Monday.

A first-year student of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture, Cummings was rushed to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, where he was pronounced dead at 4.10 pm. "It has to be expanded and advertised, and many believe that they don’t have a way out," she continued.

"This has happened before, and hopefully we will prevent it in the future." UWI principal Bhoe Tewarie said he was deeply moved by Cummings’ death.

"He was a gifted student, and it has affected everyone," he disclosed. Tewarie said he had been in contact with the Cummings family to express his condolences.

He said the Dean and heads of Departments will be assessing the situation, and assisting the students who are under stressful conditions and providing counselling services. Tewarie would not confirm or deny that Cummings had failed his examinations, after winning a scholarship in Belize.

All of the students from Canada Hall, where Cummings had an apartment, agreed that he had been an introvert, but an intelligent individual. "He was very young, and UWI is stressful," said one student. The student added that many pupils are under stress every day with work and classes.

There was a recent strike at the main telephone company in Belize, and Cummings had been unable to communicate with some of his family members in that country for five days.