With the commencement of a week-long promotional involving 79 nursing training schools countrywide, the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Examination Board-UNMEB has asked government to make some strategy changes to attract more people into the profession.
The appeal stems from the low number of students applying for the diploma nursing course. Helen Mukakarisa Kataratambi, the Executive Secretary of the board says the entry requirements for the nursing diploma course are high.
A total of 13,533 candidates are sitting for the national examinations that started yesterday morning. However of these only 1,224 candidates are sitting for diploma programs the rest will be sitting for certificate programs according to figures provided on Monday by UNMEB.
The most affected programs are the Diploma in Public Children’s Health Nursing (DPCHN) and Diploma in Mental Health Nursing (DMHN). Kataratambi says that in addition to the required pass mark, students shun some of the courses because of the little pay they fetch after training.
UNMEB was established in 2005 by the Ministry of Education and Sports with the aim of streamlining, regulating and co-ordinating examinations and is also responsible for awarding certificates in the nurses and midwifery profession in Uganda.
Annually, the board conducts four sets of examinations, two of which are promotional and state final exams. Currently, the board has conducted 23 series of state final exams and nine series of promotional exams.
