The minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, has said that the ministry will no longer issue or renew licenses for health training institutions operating beyond their capacity.
The stricter measures were revealed during the release of the 38th series of the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Examinations Board (UNMEB) results at the Office of the President Conference hall in Kampala last week.
In a speech read by the state minister for Higher Education, Dr John Muyingo, Museveni said the directive aims to uphold the standards of nursing and midwifery education.
“UNMEB statistics indicate increased demand and access to nursing and midwifery education. While this is good progress, inspection reports show that some institutions admit more students than they can accommodate,” Museveni said.
“This won’t be tolerated henceforth. This practice affects training quality and, ultimately, impacts patient care.”
Museveni directed the ministry’s technical team to regulate student numbers per institution and ensure licenses are only issued or renewed for institutions with adequate practicum facilities.
The Education ministry will collaborate with the ministry of Health to prevent hospitals from overcommitting to student training.
“The nursing and midwifery profession is unique; one mistake can cost a life. We will not allow institutions to enroll students beyond approved numbers,” she said.
The commissioner for Health Education and Training, Dr Safina Kisu Musene, explained that an institution’s capacity depends on factors such as a minimum of four tutors per program, affiliations with referral hospitals, and well-equipped skills and computer laboratories.
The 2024 final examinations were conducted from December 2 to 3, 2024 in 129 accredited centers. UNMEB previously conducted exams in June and December, but following the enactment of the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Act in February 2025, UNMEB was dissolved.
The new Uganda Health Professionals Assessment Board (UHPAB) now oversees assessments for nursing, midwifery, and allied health students after the cessation of the Uganda Allied Health Examinations Board (UAHEB).
PERFORMANCE
A total of 7,145 final candidates registered for the December 2024 examinations. Of these, 2,873 were diploma and 4,272 certificate candidates. By gender, 5,220 were female and 1,925 were male.
The UNMEB executive secretary now appointed the UHPAB interim head, Helen Mukakarisa Kataratambi, noted that certificate candidates outperformed diploma candidates.
Of the 4,272 certificate candidates, 4,030 passed with a pass rate of 94.3%. At least 252 candidates passed at the Distinction level, 3,004 at the Credit level, and 774 at Pass level. 208 candidates were ungraded, while 34 candidates were absent.
At the diploma level, out of 2,873 candidates who sat, 2,782 passed. Performance slightly declined by 0.5%, with only 78 candidates earning Distinction passes, 2,431 Credits, and 273 Pass grades. However, 86 candidates did not attain the pass mark, while five candidates were absent.
HEALTH PRINCIPALS SPEAK
Principals from health training institutions agreed with the ministry on regulating student numbers. Haima Nanziri Mayanja, the principal of Kibuli Muslim Hospital Health Training Schools, said smaller class sizes enable personalized instruction and better mentorship.
“We should agree that congestion greatly affects performance because healthcare workers are meant to provide the right competencies to their clients. If the government does not regulate student intakes, we risk having high trainee-to-patient ratios in hospitals,” Nanziri said.
Harriet Kwagala, the principal of Butabika School of Psychiatric Nursing, said high student numbers compromise the quality of nurses and midwives churned out of institutions.
nangonzi@observer.ug
It true high numbers of students in schools compromise the teaching process most especially during practical sessions.
On top of that because of being many, some end up dodging practicuum in the places of placement
Many numbers are not needed for the profession to continue performing well