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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Education and Sports is reviewing admission requirements for nursing, midwifery, and other health-related certificate programs following recent changes in the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) grading system.
Dr. Safinah Kisu Musene, the acting commissioner for Higher Technical and Vocational Education and Training (HTVET), said that the shift in UCE grading has made it impossible to continue using the previous academic entry requirements.
She added that the Health Training Department, in collaboration with relevant agencies from the Ministries of Education and Health, is developing new admission criteria, which will be announced before July, ahead of the next student intake.
Dr. Musene also clarified that students who sat for UCE under the phased-out curriculum, if any, will still be admitted based on the old entry requirements.
Previously, candidates seeking admission into nursing and midwifery certificate courses were required to have passes in five core subjects—Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English, and Biology. Additionally, they had to be physically fit, free from any impending disabilities, and at least 18 years old.
The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) recently moved away from the traditional division-based ranking system. Instead of grading students from 1 to 9 (distinction, credit, pass, and fail), candidates are now assessed using letter grades A, B, C, D, and E, with A being the highest.
According to UNEB, any student who attains at least a grade D in one of the nine subjects sat qualifies for a certificate and is deemed to have passed that level of education. However, for students enrolling in Senior Five, the requirements are stricter—they must have obtained at least a grade D in each subject they wish to study at A-Level. This has left many students unable to progress to the next academic level.
The Ministry of Education is still working to sort out various challenges that have emerged since the adoption of the new lower secondary curriculum and the revised UCE assessment system. For instance, currently, more than 6,900 students who failed to obtain UCE certificates are uncertain about their academic future.
Education experts argue that these challenges stem from the ministry’s decision to roll out the curriculum without fully assessing its potential impacts and putting solutions in place beforehand. As a result, the ministry is now in a reactive mode, trying to address problems as they arise rather than having a well-structured plan from the beginning. Meanwhile, for years, nursing and teaching were among the most sought-after career paths for students who completed Senior Four but did not proceed to A-Level.
However, in 2019, the government restructured the teaching profession, requiring all teachers to hold a degree. This effectively closed the path for Senior Four graduates, as teaching programs became accessible only to students who had completed Senior Six. With teaching no longer an option at the certificate level, nursing remained one of the few viable choices for Senior Four leavers, alongside other Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) courses. The demand for nursing programs has surged in recent years, with thousands of applicants swarming interview centers during the last two admission cycles.
The increasing number of nursing and midwifery applicants has put significant pressure on training institutions, many of which have limited capacity. Some schools have been forced to expand and admit students beyond their designated limits, raising concerns about the quality of training. In response, the Ministry of Education has issued new guidelines, emphasizing that institutions must adhere to their enrollment capacities.
Musene said that the limits are determined by factors such as available teaching facilities, space at training health units, and the tutor-to-trainee ratio. Institutions found to have exceeded their capacity will be required to comply with these regulations to ensure that the quality of training is maintained.
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