President Yoweri Museveni has authorized institutions to reopen for final year medical students and other Health related courses.
The Executive Director of NCHE Professor Mary Okwakol in a letter to all the Vice Chancellors and Principals said; “I am pleased to inform you that HE the President has approved the reopening of institutions with final year students undertaking Health Related training. This is to enable the students complete their studies so as to fill the Human Resource gap the Health sector would likely face,”
The National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) has further released guidelines ahead of the reopening of these institutions on September 28th.
Every year, final year medical students and those who pursue Health related courses are awarded internship placements in hospitals across the country.
The move is aimed at mitigating what would rather be a huge human resource gap in the Health sector if this year’s finalists had not sat for their final exams.
The group of finalists authorized to resume classes include finalist students undertaking training at a bachelor level in Medicine, and Bachelor of Surgery, Nursing, Midwifery, Dental Surgery, Pharmacy and Allied Medical Professionals.
Finalist Postgraduate students on health related programmers have also been cleared to resume classes.
Finalists undertaking training at diploma level and postgraduate students (doctors, nurses and midwives) who are qualified and are already health practitioners have also been cleared to resume.
Students pursuing diploma programmed in any health related discipline have also been allowed to resume school.
President Museveni last week instructed the National Task Force team on COVID19 to review the possibility of a phased reopening of schools starting with candidate classes and clinical medical students.
The National Task force was also tasked to review the status of other remaining sectors such as churches, weekly markets, the tourism sector and Entebbe International Airport.
The review will also include the status of the entertainment industry such as bars, cinemas, nightclubs and sports events among others.