Kampala – The Uganda Nurses and Midwifery Examinations Board (Unmeb) has announced that over 6,000 students have failed their nursing and midwifery examinations in the country. This revelation came during the release of the June 2023 examination results in Kampala.
Out of a total of 44,413 candidates who appeared for the exams, 14,291 were successful. These successful students will now qualify to join various hospitals and healthcare institutions to begin their careers in nursing and midwifery.
However, the disappointing news was the failure of 6,146 students who did not achieve the required pass grades and were consequently not graded. This setback highlights the challenges many students face in their pursuit of a career in nursing and midwifery in Uganda.
Ms. Hellen Mukakarisa, the Executive Secretary of Unmeb, highlighted some of the examination statistics. She noted an improved performance at the certificate level, achieving an 88.4 percent pass rate in 2023, compared to 87 percent in the previous year (2022). However, at the diploma level, there was a slight decrease, with a pass rate of 94.9 percent in 2023, down from 95.8 percent in 2022. Additionally, 383 candidates did not participate in the exams, citing various reasons such as financial difficulties, illness, excessive indiscipline, and quitting their studies.
In response to these challenges, the State Minister for Higher Education, Mr. John Chrysostom Muyingo, appealed to educational institutions to be flexible with students facing tuition challenges. Drawing from his own experience, he emphasized the importance of allowing students with fee balances to sit for exams, with the expectation that they would settle their fees at a later date.
Furthermore, Mr. Muyingo announced that the Ministry of Higher Education had allocated funds to review the curriculum for all nursing and midwifery programs offered in institutions across Uganda. He stressed the need to capture changes in disease trends and care approaches, as well as the incorporation of information and communication technology (ICT) in healthcare services delivery. However, the exact budget for this curriculum review is yet to be determined.
As part of the curriculum changes, Unmeb plans to introduce continuous assessment once the new curriculum is finalized, similar to the lower secondary curriculum. The details of how the continuous assessment will be implemented and the weight it will carry in final grading will be determined by experts during ongoing discussions.
The education and training of nurses and midwives play a vital role in the healthcare system, and these curriculum changes aim to ensure that graduates are equipped with the latest knowledge and skills to meet the evolving healthcare needs of the country.
As students, institutions, and policymakers grapple with these challenges and work towards improvement, the hope is that more aspiring nurses and midwives will be able to pursue their dreams and contribute to Uganda’s healthcare sector in the future.