DOCTORS: Health training should move from education to health ministry

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Doctors under their umbrella body, the Uganda Medical Association, have renewed calls to the government to transfer all health training institutions to the Ministry of Health. The institutions are currently licensed by the National Council of Higher Education( NCHE) and supervised by the Ministry of Education.

Now, doctors say that this has led to an increase in quack medical schools offering medical courses that do not meet the demands of the Ugandan health market. The call was made during the fifth Grande Doctors Conference that began today in Kampala.

Uganda Medical Association President Dr Richard Idro says that many health training institutions are doing a poor job and that they can only be able to address the current human resource needs if they are managed by an entity that is involved directly in the health sector. Idro argues that some courses approved by the NCHE are not approved by medical governing councils.

According to Dr Idro, while the government has allowed private medical training health institutions to open, they have not supervised what they teach. As a result, many learners graduate but fail to find jobs.

Prof Francis Omaswa, who delivered the keynote speech and is also the Executive Director of the Francis Center for Global Health and Social Transformation said that some of the courses approved by the National Council of Higher Education do not exist and cannot help address the country’s disease burden.

The debate over the management of health training institutions has been an issue of contention that has pushed the education ministry to decentralise the management of Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions.

Hajjat Safina Musene, the Commissioner in charge of Health Education and Training says that the decision to change management of these institutions does not fall on the ministry of education.

“There have been changes in the  Technical and Vocational Education and Training Directorate. Health training Institutions now have a fully-fledged department but discussions for the transfer is above our reach. Maybe this is a decision that can be made by the prime minister because it involves restricting public service,” she said.

President Yoweri Museveni recently directed the Prime Minister to set up an inter-ministerial committee to review all medical training in the country. Dr Idro says this committee needs to start its work.

“We really wish that this committee would get up and running urgently because medical education is not doing well. But we also ask government to provide up to date training equipment in these schools so that the students taught learn to carry out complex procedures like separating Siamese twins,” Dr Idro said.

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