Low turnout as students return to medical schools    

The students cleared undertake healthcare programmes including surgery, dental surgery, pharmacy, paramedical, nursing and midwifery, radiology and laboratory technology.

The pandemic has however not only left Ugandans susceptible to Covid-19, but also financially incapacitated. 

Only one third of students (20 out of 60) had reported at Lyantonde School of Nursing and Midwifery by Tuesday morning, with financial bottlenecks locking out many.

“Many of our parents in the dry cattle corridor have not been affected by Covid-19 pandemic alone, but foot-and- mouth disease has also affected their incomes,” Mr Benon Mugume, the director of Lyantonde School of Nursing, said of the students who have not paid up their tuition.

Mr Mugume said they are undertaking mandatory Covid-19 tests of students before they are allowed in. 

The school will have in-person classes for three weeks before administering examinations. After, students will return home with remote learning taking centre-stage. 

While the school has hired IT experts to polish the digital skills of students, Mr Mugeme said many don’t “have access to the required gadgets” to successfully undergo remote learning.

The government allowed medical schools to reopen on condition that they comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place to prevent spread of Covid-19. 

Masaka School of Comprehensive Nursing intends to follow the government’s directives to the letter, with students undergoing testing and vaccination. The school’s principal, Ms Kekulina Nawusindo said:  “We have so far received 60 students and the rest are expected in the subsequent days.”

Rakai Community School of Nursing has seen 90 per cent of its students report. The school also conducted tests on 80 students, with only one of them testing positive for Covid-19.

“The student was taken back home and isolated for better treatment,” the Rakai District’s Covid-19 task force head, Dr Bunnya Muzito, said.

Dr Muzito added that students will write their exams in September before being dispatched to different hospitals for practical studies.

More than 100 students turned up at both Kabale School of Comprehensive Nursing and IUIU school of Nursing and Midwifery, with officials reaffirming that there will be strict adherence to Covid-19 SOPs.

Ms Safina Musene, the commissioner in-charge of health training institutions in the Ministry of Education, said Covid-19 committees have already guided the health teaching institutions on how to operate in the current situation.

“They have already put in place separate rooms for Covid-19 patients and must ensure students strictly observe social distancing and wash hands as required,” she said.

Students in schools with bigger enrolments such as Virika School of Nursing in Fort Portal are expected to report in a staggered manner to ensure proper observance of SOPs.

“We arranged our students in cohorts. Those who have reported are in the first cohort and the turnout is big,” Sr Agnes Akiiki, the Virika School of Nursing’s Principal Tutor said.

The turnout in Lira and Apac medical schools is only starting to pick up. 
Ms Margret Ekel, the director of Apac-based Florence Nightingale School of Comprehensive Nursing and Midwifery, said: “Since Friday last week, the turnout has been very poor but today (Tuesday), I’m seeing a bit of improvement.”

Reporting by Fred Wambede, Mahdi Ssenkabirwa, Paul Ssekandi, Neoline Nabukenya,  Ambrose Musasizi, Alex Ashaba,  Robert Muhereza, Simon Peter Emwamu Santo Ojok & Bill Oketch

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