Govt tightens entry points for nurses, midwives

KAMPALA - Only top students at Senior Four will have the chance to enrol for certificate programmes at the nursing and midwifery, as well as allied health training institutions in the country. 

This follows the tightening of entry requirements by the education ministry, where only students that attained at least a C letter grade in biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as a D grade in both mathematics and English, will be allowed to enrol for certificate courses. 

It should be noted that these also qualify to enrol for science subject combinations at secondary school levels. 

It should be noted that last year, the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) rolled out a new grading system for lower secondary school level, where five letter grades of A to E replaced the old system of distinction, credits, pass and failure. 

Under the current grading system, learners awarded letter grade A are exceptional, B-outstanding, C-satisfactory, D-basic and E-elementary. 

The new entry requirements were issued yesterday by the education ministry to health training institutions during the third National Health Professional’s Education, Training and Health Care conference held at Source of the Nile Hotel in Jinja city. 

The conference, which commenced on Tuesday (April 1), was officially launched on Thursday by the First Lady, who is also the education minister, Janet Museveni. 

The conference, themed A Transformed Health Education, Training and Healthcare for Improved Health Outcome and Productive Population, was attended by several dignitaries including state minister for primary education Dr Joyce Moriku-Kaducu and the ministry’s undersecretary Dr Jane Egau. 

It was also graced by Dr Henry Mwebesa, the chairperson of the Health Service Commission and Dr Alfred Driwale Commissioner of Health Services and principals of health training institutions, among others. 

In her speech, the First Lady explained that Uganda will only realise its vision of “transforming from a peasant to a modern and prosperous Uganda” when our schools and training institutions produce adults with appropriate competences, right values, attitudes and love for their communities and their nation. 

To the First Lady, a transformed health education and training is a result of transformed institutions, leaders, governors, staff and learners. She said the provision of education and training, including health training, should be looked at as a service and not a business. 

However, Mrs Museveni said, when people conform to the standards of a business model, the essence of training is lost and that the outcome is poor quality human resources.

The First Lady, therefore, called for a transformation of minds, where proprietors of private health training institutions look at a service. 

“Transformation starts with the renewal of the mind. This calls for a change in mindset, focus and objectives regarding your work and expected outcomes,” she said.

Changes in training 

In the changing world, Mrs Museveni noted that the health training sub-sector requires lecturers and mentors who use innovative pedagogy and competency-based learning, as well as digital health and technological interventions, interdisciplinary collaboration and institutional frameworks. 

She revealed that they are in the process of revolutionising regulation of health training in Uganda, which will soon be done by both the education and health ministries. This, Mrs Museveni noted, will be done to tackle the core challenges of health education and training in Uganda. 

“Policy standardisation and regulation of health education and training is, therefore, important and the process of its development by joint teams of the education and health ministries is in its final stages,” she said. Adding: 

“It is, therefore, important that all stakeholders of education, sports and health deliberately rethink and use the theme of the conference to improve training and education. Health workers today must be competent to tackle and handle medical/ health conditions accurately within the rapidly changing environment and evolving disease situation.”

The First Lady, Janet Museveni (right), receiving an appreciation plaque from Dr Egau at the conference in Jinja city.

New programmes 

During the event, the First Lady also launched four new curricula for diploma in emergency care, diploma in medical records and informatics, diploma in care and nursing, as well as diploma in paediatric nursing and child health care. 

Relatedly, the minister launched a fresh census for all academic institutions, both public and private, which started on Monday (April 7). 

The census, which will be conducted by the ministry in collaboration with the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, is intended to provide accurate education statistics to support planning, budding and decision-making in the sector. 

Although the Education Management Information System was rolled out two years ago, the First Lady explained that some rogue school administrators were reporting numbers of students who do not exist to target more funding. 

“The exercise will be conducted in a phased manner, starting with Greater Kampala before rolling out to the rest of the country by June 30,” Mrs Museveni said.

Why new requirements 

Dr Safina Kisu Musene, the commissioner in charge of health education and training at the education ministry, explained that the entry requirements have been introduced to attract the top students for health programmes. 

Dr Egau also asked health training institutions to ensure that they produce students fit to serve and with the right attitude towards patients. 

“A healthy student with poor attitude is a danger to the health sector, while a health tutor and lecturer with poor attitude is a liability to the health sector,” she said.

Recommendations 

Although Uganda has improved staffing levels at health facilities, Mwebesa noted that overcrowding of students in health facilities and training institutions should be addressed to ensure quality. 

He recommended that a new policy is adopted, where students having practicum at health facilities provide medical supplies in kind, such as gloves, as opposed to paying for same to access these facilities. 

This, he said, will address corruption and limit the likelihood of health facilities allowing more students for practicum than what they can accommodate, to target money from students. 

It should be noted that students pay about sh100,000 to access practicum at health facilities. 

On his part, Driwale recommended that the education sector invest in training of health professionals for future demand in non-communicable diseases, mental health, infectious diseases and ageing population.